Awake and Alive
by Avalain Nightshade
Summary: Zelda never wanted to be HYDRA. She hates everything about it, especially her boss, Alexander Pierce. But when Zelda is promoted to Project Red, a position that supervises a supersoldier of HYDRA's, and learns of the horrible things HYDRA does to him, she is determined to protect the soldier with everything that she is, and perhaps help him establish a life worth living.
1. Chapter 1

"Bellefleur, status?"

"Turkey has accepted the deal with Pakistan, sir."

"Excellent. That means they'll be more compliant to deal with us."

"I hope so, sir. Assuming our negotiators do not assume a triumphant air with this new information, I believe we shall be successful. Remember that these are a proud people—and we don't want to repeat what happened with Afghanistan."

Alexander Pierce chuckled. "I should hope not. Good work, Bellefleur. You continue to amaze me." After this high praise, he nodded and left the room, gently shutting the door behind him.

Zelda leaned back in her chair and sighed angrily the moment he was gone. What a wretched man, she thought, taking advantage of an already poor people for HYDRA's own good. This thought fueled the hatred and disgust she withheld for the organization since she'd begun working there.

Her ever-so-constant rage consumed her once again. Forcefully, Zelda grabbed the stress ball at the corner of her desk and squeezed it so hard her knuckles cracked and turned white. But she couldn't help it. She hated HYDRA. She hated what they did, what they made her do. She hated herself.

But if she wanted to protect her family, there was nothing else she could do.

With a sigh, she returned to perusing the papers at her desk. Although she had successfully convinced Turkey to purchase a hundred-thousand gallons of oil from Pakistan for a rather expensive price, she could not confirm that they would be stuck with an excess of oil, thus making prices cheaper for America. It all depended on what the people of Turkey did with it… personally, Zelda hoped they used it all. Then HYDRA wouldn't get what they wanted.

Opening her eyes, she looked at the next paper. Her next assignment was to support the terrorist group, ISIS, by "accidentally" sending a few journalists who were a potential threat to HYDRA on a trip to the Middle-East. Zelda swallowed uneasily. She hated her job.

She hated it so much.

Zelda reached for the stress ball again. If only she could have remained at SHIELD, she thought. Her life would've been full of honest work, something that would give her pride and not shame. She could've made peace, not war, and created diplomacy, not chaos. Plus, she wouldn't have to deal with Pierce or Grant…

Grant. Zelda frowned at the mere thought of him. He was absolutely repulsive, and he would certainly be in the lounge if she went to take her coffee break. Or was he on guard duty…? Zelda couldn't remember. But she knew that she really needed a pick-me up.

Knowing that she would simply have to take the risk of running into him, she rose tiredly from her office chair and ducked her head into the hallway. Seeing no one around, she cautiously emerged and tip-toed her way to the lounge.

Luckily, it was empty. Relieved, Zelda grabbed a cup of coffee and prepared it to her liking: two sugar, no milk. She took advantage of the empty room and sat down in a chair, a hand to her head.

How she wished she could just go back to her apartment. The thought of returning to work and trying to figure out how to get those journalists to ISIS nauseated her. It was wrong; it was sick.

It was _**murder. **_

How could Pierce casually make that an assignment? How could he just send three innocent people to their deaths far away from their home?

She had no idea. Then again, she should've expected it. After all, he'd had no trouble holding a knife to her mother's neck two years past.

The memory made Zelda turn green. It had been two years ago. She had been in HYDRA for all that time, performing terrible deeds, taking advantage of people, harming them, killing them, worse.

She'd been a slave for all that time.

Zelda sighed. She felt something familiar—that feeling she got that signaled everything was bubbling up inside her. Soon it would explode. Realizing what was about to happen, she stood up. If she was going to scream and break down the way she did whenever it all became too much, she would much rather it be in her office, where no one except Pierce bothered her.

Swallowing the shriek in her throat, Zelda grabbed her coffee cup and gripped it so hard she almost broke the Styrofoam. But she calmed herself enough so that didn't happen and walked towards the door—right when she exited, she ran into someone, spilling her drink all over her shirt and pants.

"Oh, brilliant," she exclaimed. "Just great!"

"Sorry, dear," said the voice she _**least**_ wanted to hear. Zelda closed her eyes in fury as she recognized Grant. Her anger became greater upon realizing that he'd probably bumped into her on purpose. "Here, let me help."

"No thank you," Zelda protested quickly. "I can manage for myself."

"Nonsense. Let me grab that cup—here are some napkins." And without her consent, he wiped the steaming liquid off of her face and neck, Zelda making sure not to look at him as he did. When he was finished, his eyes rested on her soaking shirt—she crossed her arms and glared at him. Noting her belligerent attitude, Grant smirked sideways and said, "Sorry again, Zelda. It was nice bumping into you, though."

"I wish I could say the same, Grant, but then I would by lying," retorted Zelda. "Now if you'll please excuse me, I'm swamped, and I need to get back to it."  
Without waiting for his response, Zelda threw her empty coffee cup in the trash and darted back to her office.

As soon as she closed the door, she rushed to the chair, grabbed the pillow on it, and screamed into it. Unfortunately, she didn't feel much better afterward. There was only so much she could do to alleviate herself from the pain and guilt that HYDRA thrust upon her. It was not like screaming would help her forget the people she'd wronged or the hatred she festered for the organization.

She wished she was back at SHIELD. Her life had been wonderful while she was there… Zelda had had friends; great ones. There had been Bryan, who'd always call her "kiddie" or "junior" because of her age. Violet had shown her the ropes of SHIELD and helped her the first few weeks when Zelda was new and didn't quite understand how operations worked.

And of course, there had been Rory, who was the IRD—International Relationships Department—joker. He would always go out of her way to make her laugh, especially if he knew she'd had a bad day. If she hadn't been forced into HYDRA, Zelda figured that she and Rory would've eventually been dating. They had been growing rather close, after all…

Another part of her job that Zelda had loved was getting to know Nick Fury, her boss. He had championed her to all who would listen, claiming she was the best person he'd ever hired for international diplomacy and relationships, particularly with the countries in the Middle-East. He would always brag about how she'd accomplished so much at nineteen years of age.

"Yes, sir, one of the damn best I've ever had," Nick had exclaimed once to a council member and Alexander Pierce. "Ask her to stop a war, and she'll probably be able to do it. It's astounding. Obtained only an associate's degree in college, and she's keeping the peace between seven countries! I repeat, one of the damn best."

Zelda smiled slightly recalling this. Although the memory gave her a sense of warmth, seeing as Nick was the person who'd appreciated her the most, she also figured it was this praise that made Pierce decide he wanted her for HYDRA. He wouldn't have bothered with her otherwise… With another sigh, Zelda checked the clock. She prayed it was almost seven… her heart fell when she saw it was only half past three in the afternoon.

As if she wasn't miserable enough.

And it was only Tuesday…

She glanced down at her desk in defeat. The file for the journalists was open, glaring up at her. With a sudden spurt of defiance, Zelda tossed the entire folder in the trash. She was _**not**_ going to complete that mission, she would not, Alexander Pierce be damned.

A grim satisfaction filled her when a janitor came to empty her trashcan. Little acts of rebellion at a time, Zelda, she thought to herself. Little acts of rebellion at a time.

* * *

At last, it was seven in the evening, and Zelda was free to go. The moment her alarm started going off, she shut her computer lid, stashed all the files to the side of her desk, and exited her office cubicle. Once she was walking the hallway, she breathed deeply in relief. She hated that office—she often felt trapped and constrained in there. Even the narrow hallways were better, because at least she had more room to look around and see.

But of course, right as she reached the lobby of the humongous HYDRA headquarters, Grant just so happened to appear. Seeing her, he gasped and exclaimed, "Ah, Zelda! I was hoping to run into you."

"And I was hoping to run _**away**_ from you," grumbled Zelda under her breath. But she merely glanced Grant's way before saying audibly, "I believe you did that earlier, actually. As you can see, the coffee stains haven't come out."

Grant wore an expression of fake sympathy. "I _**am**_ sorry about that, my dear. As it is, might I repay you for the coffee I unfortunately spilled earlier? How about we go to the nearest Starbucks and I buy you a drink? Or bar, whichever you prefer. We might discuss the mission we've both been assigned!"

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Which mission?"

"The one concerning the three journalists, of course," exclaimed Grant, almost as if he was offended she had to ask. "I myself am quite excited about this one. Think about how excited the journalists will be if we tell them we can get them an interview with an ISIS member… Not that they'll actually get it, however…"

_That's sick. **You're** sick,_ thought Zelda, though all she said was, "I regret to inform you that I have no idea what you're talking about, Grant."

"Oh, please, call me Peter," said Grant, waving his hand dismissively. "Aren't last names a bit too formal once we're off the clock?"

"On the contrary, I believe it maintains class," replied Zelda. She was careful not to look at him as she said, "I wonder whatever happened to the days when the usage of first names often meant a sincere friendship?"

"They passed," smirked Grant. "So I've noticed," muttered Zelda. After what seemed like an eternity of talking to Grant, she was relieved to reach the giant set of double doors—as soon as she passed these, she could give him the slip by declaring she needed to return to her apartment…

But Grant stepped forward and blocked her way. "So, _**Ms. Bellefleur**_," he emphasized with a certain gleam in his eye that made Zelda want to roll hers, "how about that drink?"

Zelda attempted to put on a rueful smile, even though it pained her that she wouldn't simply be able to say no. "I'm sorry, Grant, but I've got to run some errands. Besides, I have to be back here at eight in the morning tomorrow, so I'm afraid a drink would be a bad idea for me."

He smiled, though there was a sort of amusement behind it. "I see… would you be able to join me Friday? We've got Saturday off this week, so there would be nothing to detain us from a wonderful evening."

Somehow, Zelda was able to see right through to what he was suggesting. "No thank you, Grant," she retorted, heavily wishing he would get out of her way so she could go grab some dinner and go back to her apartment and watch Netflix. "I'm very busy this weekend, you see. Perhaps some other time."

Grant, however, just sighed. "You're always busy, it seems, Ms. Bellefleur. Sooner or later you have to have some free time."

Half of her wanted to tell him that she would be rather have her Star Wars marathon than go to a bar with him. But the other half of her was a little more reasonable, so Zelda abstained. She knew that Grant would get nasty otherwise, in more ways than one. Besides, he always persisted until he got what he wanted—and in this case, what he wanted was sex. With her. Great.

"That's what I tell myself, yet it never happens," lied Zelda, shrugging her shoulders. "Now, Grant, if you please—you're blocking everyone from leaving." She pointed over her shoulder towards the line of angry HYDRA workers that were attempting to figure out what the holdup was.

Grant noticed this and allowed her through. He walked beside Zelda as they exited, and his hand happened to brush the back of her leg, close to her butt. She glared at him, but he chose to ignore it.

"Have a pleasurable evening, Zelda!" called Grant over his back.

As soon as he was out of earshot, she exclaimed angrily to herself, "It will be, thank you very much, because _**you**_ are not a part of it!"

With that, Zelda stormed to Schwarma, her favorite restaurant. Their burgers were simply unparalleled, and she needed something fat and greasy to cheer her up after that horrid encounter with her least favorite coworker. Luckily, Robbie happened to be working the cash register; Robbie was her apartment neighbor just one room across from her. He had been the first to welcome her when she moved in, and they had become good friends in the past two years.

When she entered, Zelda spent a fair amount of time complaining to him about Grant and his unwanted advances. He used his ten minute break so she could rant to him about how _**annoying**_ and _**suggestive**_ he was, and how she wished she was in a different line of work so she wouldn't have to put up with him.

"Go on, honey," said Robbie encouragingly, clapping a hand on her wrist. "Let it all out. It's fine, I totally getcha, it's all going to be okay."

Zelda couldn't help but smile at his words—Robbie was all about optimism; between her and his boyfriend, Nathaniel, it was left to him to be the bright, smiling one. Neither Zelda nor Nathan liked their jobs or the people they worked with, though luckily Robbie did not understand their struggle. He very much enjoyed his job; he'd become especially fond of it when the Avengers had all come and ordered while he was on the clock.

"There you go, sweet cheeks," grinned Robbie as he inspected his nails. "Keep smiling! Now we're getting somewhere." He glanced over Zelda's shoulder to see a little boy looking at him quizzically.

"Why are you talking like that?" asked the boy. "John!" cried a woman that could only be the boy's mother. "Apologize!"

Robbie sighed, though he seemed bored instead of offended. "It's fine, ma'am. And son, I talk like this because I can. Now here—eat these Skittles, taste the rainbow, don't go hating on people, okay? Fabulous." And he chucked the package of Skittles at the boy, who appeared nothing short of delighted.

Zelda chuckled as the child ambled off, tearing open the candy. "Do you always have Skittles upon your person, Robbie?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead without them," he grinned in confirmation. But then he gasped. "Oh, honey, what if I came and met you after your shift tomorrow? Then I can pretend to be your boyfriend and Grain will leave you alone!"

At this, Zelda burst into laughter. "Wouldn't that be painful for you?"

"It would," admitted Robbie, "but anything for you, girl. If it gets Grain off your ass I'd be glad to help!"

"It's Grant, but it'd be great if you could call him Grain," giggled Zelda. She was astonished with how quickly Robbie could turn her mood around. She felt lucky to have a friend like him, even if he was the only friend she had. "Whatever his name is. He sounds meretricious. I want to insult him for making a move on my bestie!"

Zelda laughed again, and she exclaimed, "Well, Robbie, I'll be sure to let you know! My workplace is really strict, though, you won't be able to come inside the lobby. You'll have to wait for me outside."

"That's fine, dear. Will you call me?"

"You can count on it."

"Fantabulous. Now I've got to get back to work. Ciao!" And with that, Robbie darted back behind the register to welcome whoever else walked in the restaurant.

Zelda smiled and left Schwarma—thanks to Robbie, her day was starting to look up. It became better as she remembered she had a date with Star Trek: Into Darkness.

* * *

With this project, I plan on updating twice a week; no more, no less. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter! :)

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

The following morning, Zelda was back in her office cubicle, wishing she were sleeping instead of working on a case for something or other about Iraq. She didn't quite know what it was she was reading since she'd stayed up into two in the morning watching Netflix. It was pretty much her life, since she wasn't allowed to keep in touch with her old friends, her parents, or basically anyone who'd known her before she was forced into HYDRA.

Even though she was practically falling asleep at her desk, Zelda somehow managed to work out a solution to the Iraq situation. At least, she was pretty **_sure _**she'd completed it… oh well. It'd be fine.

Restraining a yawn, she figured she could reward herself with a nap. After all, she was ahead of her work by about two hours. A little cat-nap wouldn't hurt.

So of course, she slept the majority of the work day in her office.

In fact, the only reason she woke up was because the phone in her office rang.

Zelda's eyes shot open, and she glared at the device. Half of her wanted to leave it there and let it ring, but she knew that the only people who called her office were important people who couldn't be bothered to use their legs and talk to her in person. So it was grudgingly that Zelda sat forward in her chair and grabbed the phone.

After clearing her throat so she wouldn't sound groggy, she asked, "Hello?"

"Bellefleur," said Alexander Pierce's voice. "I called to inform you that your work on the Iraq case was inspiring. Very well done."

"Oh, thank you, sir," said Zelda, though she frowned instead of smiled. "I'm glad it worked well."

"It worked well indeed. I was wondering, Bellefleur, if you might join me for dinner tonight? I have something very important I would like to tell you, and it is not something I can put off."

"Uh…" mumbled Zelda uncertainly. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

Pierce chuckled over his end of the phone. "No, of course not. Although I would normally discourage you from napping on the job, your effort on the Turkey-Pakistani and Iraqi cases have been stellar enough for me to forgive you."

Now it was Zelda who smirked. Good to know she was able to get away with sleeping. "Well, sir, I'll try to stay awake. I had a bit of a late one."

"Watching Netflix?"

"Oh, how did you know?" asked Zelda, rolling her eyes. She knew she was on surveillance at her apartment, though she had yet to find the actual bugs. "Now the real question is—what movie was I watching?"

"I could've sworn I heard the Star Trek soundtrack first," answered Pierce, "though I couldn't tell after that, unfortunately enough. All the same, you have good taste in movies."

Hearing this, Zelda chuckled. She figured that if he wasn't the head of HYDRA, the worst organization that existed throughout the entire planet, Alexander Pierce might've been a pretty cool guy.

"Anyway, back to business," said Pierce, the joking manner in his voice disintegrating. "I dearly hope you will join me for dinner today, Bellefleur, because it would be a big mistake if you did not. We wouldn't want to have to pay your parents a visit… Like I said, this is very important."

All respect Zelda had gained for Pierce within the past five minutes vanished. She hated it when he threatened her with the murder of her parents. "Of course I will accept, sir. When and where do you want me?"

"Down in the lobby is fine," he answered. "How about six o'clock?"

Zelda resisted the urge to sigh. Of course, he would want her right after her shift ended. That way she wouldn't miss any precious time to kill some more innocents! "Very well, sir, I will see you at six."

He confirmed and hung up, leaving Zelda with her head in her hands once again. Before she resumed her work, she texted Robbie to let him know that mission get-Grant-off-my-ass was postponed until further notice, to which he responded, "Well there goes my Wednesday evening."

Zelda chortled seeing the text and resumed her work, however much she wished she did not have to.

Five minutes before six o'clock, Zelda left her office cubicle. As always, she closed her computer lid, pushed her documents to the side, and locked the door before proceeding. A grim satisfaction hit her when she realized that Grant wouldn't be presented the opportunity to bother and molest her again today, because if **_he _**was out five minutes early, he'd probably get fired or something.

When Zelda reached the lobby, she found Pierce already waiting for her there. He stood smack dab in the middle of the place, his hands behind his back as he stood. Upon seeing her, his eyebrows raised and an expectant smile came over his face.

"Ms. Bellefleur, good; you are here."

"Well, sir, I wouldn't just rebuff an invitation of yours."

_For the sake of my family, _thought Zelda bitterly to herself.

A smirk tugged at Pierce's lips hearing her comment. His eyes flashed with amusement, as if he could read her mind and knew what she was thinking. "That's good to know, Bellefleur. That's good to know. Now—how about you follow me to where we shall be dining?"

Without waiting for a reply, Pierce set off. Zelda followed him as he took some unknown hallways and corridors. It astounded her how she'd worked in the ginormous complex for two full years, and still she didn't know her complete way around. In fact, the only parts of the building she knew like the back of her hand were her office, the lounge for the IRD, and the hallways leading to the lobby.

It took a few minutes until they reached the place where they would be dining. When Pierce held open the door for her, the girl's eyes widened and she almost froze in the doorway.

"After you," said Pierce. Zelda, realizing that she was blocking the doorway, smiled somewhat sheepishly—yet somewhat complacently—as she entered the large room.

All Zelda could say at first was, "It's huge."

And that was an understatement. The room she entered was more like a grand foyer, something she would see in a movie. It was large enough to host a ball in—the walls were made of glass, the floor was a dark wood. In the center of the room sat a long table already decorated with golden platters of food. And there was a **_lot _**of food for only two people… there were enough fruits and salad and chicken and cheesecake for half a dozen at least!

Pierce's chuckle brought her out of her thoughts. "Yes, that it is. It is where we host office parties every year… sadly, I don't recollect seeing you at either of the last two."

"I'm afraid that's because I have not attended. I don't know anyone well enough to consider myself welcome company, sir."

"That's a pity," sighed her boss. "I would've thought that after so long of his attempts to talk to you, you might've befriended Grant."

Despite her restraint, Zelda groaned loudly.

At this, Pierce laughed. "Or not. Perhaps you should give him a chance, though, Bellefleur. After all, he's a very dedicated and enthusiastic employee."

_And that is the second reason why I will reject him until I die._

"I am quite aware of that, sir," responded Zelda. "The problem is, his intentions of what he wants from me are quite clear, and I cannot say I appreciate it. If he wants to become my friend, he'll have to try to become **_just _**my friend before he attempts anything else."

Zelda did not look at Pierce after her comment—she figured he was probably smirking or withholding a laugh. As it was, he only said, "I see… please, sit down and help yourself."

Knowing that to do anything else was a bad idea, she did exactly what he suggested. Since she had skimped on lunch, she found that she was ravenous; but Zelda astounded even herself when she saw how much fruit she stocked on her plate. With a shrug, she decided to eat it all. Waste not, want not, right?

For a while, the two ate contentedly, and in silence. But after a while, that silence started to get on Zelda's nerves. What was she doing there, anyway?

She decided to speak that thought aloud. "Sir, you mentioned earlier that you had something important to tell me."

Pierce nodded, though he did not look up from his cheesecake. "That I did, Bellefleur. And you are right—it is important. It is not something you can tell anyone else, whether it is anyone within the International Relationships Department or even within HYDRA. The only person you may discuss this topic with is me, is that understood?"

"My, my, what a cheery opener," joked Zelda. But immediately afterward, she sobered and replied, "On a more serious note, yes sir, you have my word."

"Good," said Pierce. He set down his fork then and intertwined his hands, his unsettling icy-blue gaze on Zelda's face. She unconsciously mirrored him by folding her hands together and placing them on the table; seeing that he had her undivided attention, he nodded. "Now then… you see, as head of the IRD, you have been presented with a lot of difficult work. Being only twenty when I first hired you, I did not expect you to perform your duties so admirably. And within these past two years, you have continued to astound me, one case after another."

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Thank you, sir."  
Pierce, however, smiled and replied, "You need to thank yourself for doing so well during the short time you've been within HYDRA. It is because of your success that you are here… you see, not everyone is doing as well as you are, Bellefleur. Some things cannot be helped, and what happened with Project Red last week is one of those things."

"Project Red, sir?" repeated Zelda. Throughout her time at HYDRA, she had never heard of such a thing.

Her boss nodded. "Project Red. It is a secret experiment that has been ongoing since the end of World War II; the year 1944, to be exact. I assume you have heard of the figure, Captain America?"

Zelda chuckled. "Oh, yes," she answered lightly. "Yes, him I've heard of. He actually saved my life during the alien attacks two years ago, so I got to see him rather up close."

Pierce chuckled. "How ironic," he sighed. "One of SHIELD's most promising agents saving the life of one of HYDRA's."

Although Zelda smiled, she moved her hands to her lap and clenched her fingers together so hard she wouldn't have been surprised if they'd broken. It was **_not _**by her making that she was HYDRA—if she'd had a choice, she'd still be one of SHIELD's.

But then he distracted her from her rage by continuing: "Anyway, Bellefleur, Project Red is somewhat related to Captain America. Did you know that during the Second World War, he had what we call a 'supersoldier serum' used on him? Because he did, and it was considered the highest technology of the time. SHIELD won the war because of him… so naturally, we decided to try it too."

Zelda gasped. _No—how could they—_

"Yes, I was shocked to hear of it too," grinned Pierce, mistaking or choosing to interpret her anger as surprise. "But we managed to take a nearly deceased soldier from a ravine in the war and successfully administered the serum into _him, _too. He's been kept alive for the past seventy years because of this; he's been under ice for a few years. But last week, we woke him up to help HYDRA's newest cause."

The girl was becoming more surprised and more angry with each second. But she knew she couldn't show it, or her parents were dead. All the same, what was she supposed to do? Why was he telling her this?

"Why does it relate to you?" asked Pierce, raising an eyebrow. "That's just what you're here for. You see, the man supervising our experiment, Dr. Ewing, has retired. After one rather unfortunate accident, he lost the use of his legs and now requires a wheelchair to move. He has been honorably discharged from HYDRA. But now, we need a new supervisor. And, as I thought you have been doing so well with the IRD lately, you could do the same with Project Red."

Hearing this, Zelda blinked. She stared at Pierce, at his folded hands, at the look in his eyes. If she knew anything about people, it was how to interpret what they felt based on their body language. And Alexander Pierce was being nothing now, if not sincere.

"You mean… you want me to watch the soldier in Project Red?"

"Quite so," answered Pierce, a small smile creeping over his face. "We need someone who can get her work done for this position, Bellefleur. And this soldier that we've incorporated into the experiment… well, he has an assignment and needs some looking after. But that's not all you would do."

"Naturally," replied Zelda, though she was careful to remove all sense of sarcasm from her voice, however much she wanted to use it. "What else would you want me to do, other than help this soldier complete his mission?"

Pierce looked thoughtful for a moment before finally responding, "The other duties that Dr. Ewing had taken up, I suppose. You would need to conduct tests on the soldier weekly, as well as view how his weapons specializing goes. When he is out of the building, you shall need to either be with him or be watching him from one of our cameras. Does that present you with enough information?"

Zelda reviewed what he had said and nodded slowly. "I just have one more question, sir. What is this soldier's name?"

"We only call him Soldier," replied Pierce with a short nod. "Although I shall give you his complete file after you have had one week on the job. When I give you that folder, you and I shall have another discussion about your new position."

The prospect of another meeting with Pierce made Zelda's stomach drop, but not nearly as much as it had when he'd declared she would need to perform **_tests _**on the soldier. What kind of tests was he talking about? She wouldn't hurt him. She couldn't… It wasn't like he was volunteering to be part of HYDRA. If her assumptions were correct, the poor guy had been **_iced _**for years on end!

She, however, could not open her mouth to speak her mind, or her parents were dead.

So Zelda contented herself with a nod and a short, "Very well, sir, I accept the position."

"Of course you do," answered Pierce with a complacent smile. Zelda wished she could smack it off of his face; **_that, _**however, was a thought reserved for her daydreams. "Tomorrow morning, I shall wait for you in the lobby. I will introduce you to the new place where you shall work, as well as to the soldier you shall be observing and supervising. Does that sound good to you, Bellefleur?"

"Quite so, sir."

"Excellent. Then I shall see you tomorrow morning at 8AM sharp. Have a wonderful night, Ms. Bellefleur—and thank you for good company."

"Of course, sir," replied Zelda. With that, she rose from her chair, saluted to Pierce in the customary way, and walked out of the room. While it took her a few tries to locate the lobby, once she was free, she ran outside toward her apartment.

How could she be expected to keep this soldier in check?

How would she perform **_experiments _**on him? Though she hadn't even met him yet, Zelda knew that he was still human. She wouldn't be able to do it…

She knew that somehow, she'd find a way to get out of it. But that was a problem for when she had more information. For now, Zelda was going to go home, relax as best as she could, and prepare herself for her new position.

* * *

Guess who we get to see next chapter? :)

Please review with questions, comments, concerns, etcetera!


	3. Chapter 3

True to his word, the following morning at eight o'clock, Pierce was in the lobby, at the precise place he had been at the previous night. When he saw Zelda—who had attempted to look professional that day—he raised his eyebrows.

In explanation to the mildly surprised expression on his face, Zelda sighed and, looking up at the bun in her hair and gesturing to her pencil skirt, said, "I figured that a new position meant introductions, which means I'll have to look professional… so…"

"Indeed. It works for you, Bellefleur," replied Pierce, though that was all he said on the matter. "Here; follow me."

Zelda followed her boss as he walked through even more confusing twists and turns than the previous evening. She almost stamped her foot out of frustration as they went on, knowing that it would take her **_forever _**to learn how to navigate all the puzzling corridors.

Although, she thought bitterly, for something so important, of course they had to hide it well. Even so that made her job a right bit inconvenient.

When at last Pierce reached a promising set of iron doors, he stopped and turned around to face her. She watched him expectantly as he opened his mouth—but there was a silence, as if he was thinking about what to say, or how to say it. She waited patiently, quite curious… finally, he announced, "Now, Bellefleur, you might be shocked as to what you see behind these doors. But I can reassure you that everything here is normal, even if it is nothing at all like the office you once used to own. So do not be surprised by what you are about to see."

"You are very comforting," murmured Zelda, her light brown eyes wide.

Pierce chuckled and faced the doors. He grabbed a handle and pulled, gesturing her inside.

And he was right. Zelda was shocked by what awaited her.

The main lobby was completely different than anything she would've expected. The walls were a dark metal, as if they were inserted specifically so no one could look outside. The floors were made of the same material, which made the whole place look rather droll and confining. There were many open doors leading into even **_more _**hallways, as if Zelda didn't have enough passageways to memorize.

"This is where our more secret projects are located," informed Pierce, gesturing to the wide open space with his arms. "Consider yourself honored to be presented a glimpse of this." He dropped his arms then and waved onward in a clear indication that they were not at their true destination yet.

Exasperated, Zelda followed.

Luckily, they only passed through two more doors before he stopped again. The girl looked around and noticed that this room was divided into two; it was separated by a wall of soundproof glass.

On the other side of the room she could see a man dressed in dark jeans and a dark jacket, throwing knives at a target. His back was to her, so he didn't notice when she came in. Zelda gazed at him curiously. Was this the soldier she was to supervise?

"Here we are, the training room," announced Pierce, drawing Zelda's attention again. She blinked and looked back at him as he continued, "This is where you shall conduct the training tests. You shall also come here for analysis and data collection; and each Friday morning, I will be here to relieve you of the results of the weekly experiments."

"What are these experiments I keep hearing about, sir?"

"It is a test on the serum within his body—part of it is that his cells are superhuman; they can heal and withstand more pain than a normal human's can. We have delved to discover the speed and limit these cells can work at through energizing them with electric current."

Zelda was nothing less than horrified. She could read between the lines. But despite her disgust and repulsion, she kept her face blank. "You mean you've been electrocuting him."

"In blunter words, I suppose you could say that."

"And how often does this happen?"

He thought for a moment before answering. "About once a week. The trials, I must admit, are not as constant as they used to be in past years. We have collected as much information as we could the last few times he's been awake; therefore, there is not much data left that is unknown to us. But we persist just in case there is a new development…"

There were absolutely no words for Zelda to say in response. She simply nodded and looked back at the soldier in pity—how many times had he been awake? How many times had he endured that torture?

The knife the soldier threw landed in the middle of the target.

It was at that moment that Zelda realized Pierce had walked through the door and was approaching the soldier. The man abruptly stopped throwing knives and stood still as Pierce murmured a few words.

"Ms. Bellefleur, if you would be so kind as to join us?" requested Pierce.

Although she was still a little sick to her stomach, she nodded and forced her legs to move. Her short heels echoed across the metal floor… how she wished she could've worn her standard boots today…

When she walked next to Pierce was when she got her first good look at the man she would be supervising, torturing.

Not only did he wear dark clothing—his gloves were black as well. It was as if he simply wanted to melt into the background, into the shadows… Zelda could not blame him. She glanced at his face and saw that he was glaring at her, his dark hair somewhat obscuring his blue eyes. He swallowed when he saw her, the distaste in his eyes as clear as ever.

Yet it was **_underneath _**that distaste that made Zelda stop short. She could see the questioning in his gaze, the doubt, the hatred, the fear. It was clear that he'd had bad experiences with his past supervisors… she could tell by the way he glared at her, as if he already knew she was going to hurt him. And he was, deep down, afraid of her, of what she might do, of what HYDRA would make her do. While she noticed the strength and skill of his body, his mind and trust had been broken.

In a way, she realized, he was like her.

It was clear he had not wanted to be a part of HYDRA—or if he had, he regretted it. He felt alone and betrayed by everyone he knew, and he knew that there was no way out of his pain.

Seeing this, Zelda wanted to help him. She did. She felt immensely sorry for him because of what he'd had to go through. An endless cycle of waking, killing, and being frozen. Of being tortured and trained and manipulated. If she thought **_she _**had it bad, this soldier had it ten times worse.

"Soldier, meet your new supervisor, Ms. Bellefleur. She'll be taking over all of Dr. Ewing's duties from now on. She's a wonderful employee, and she will help you through your training and trials."

Soldier tensed at the word "trials," but he said nothing about it.

Pierce, noting the lack of contact, cleared his throat and tried again. "And Ms. Bellefleur, this is Soldier, whom you will be assisting and taking charge of when necessary."

Zelda, hoping to get Soldier to stop hating her, held out a hand and swallowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Soldier."

He glanced at her outstretched hand and cautiously shook it, though he was still silent.

Pierce looked at them before sighing and clapping his hands together. "Well! Glad we all know each other. Ms. Bellefleur, if you could please follow me over here for a moment?"

Without a word, she set off after Pierce. Once they were some feet away—Soldier returned to throwing knives at the target—he murmured, "This is the current file that we have on Soldier about the collected data from his trials." He handed her a manila envelope, which Zelda stared at carefully. "This should give you a general idea of what to expect during the first couple of weeks. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. Good luck."

"Thank you, sir," said Zelda. "What… should I start with? I don't know what exactly to do with these training records…"

"Just ask him to show you how he shoots a specific gun and take notes on how closely he hits the targets. That'll suffice for today."

Not waiting for any more of Zelda's questions, he ambled out of the room, closing the glass door behind him before walking out of the other door as well. And with that, Zelda and Soldier were alone, and she **_still _**had no idea what to do.

She turned around curiously; _thump _went the knife as it hit the target.

With a sigh, Zelda opened the folder that Pierce had given her and perused its contents. She was rather underwhelmed by what she found… a faster healing rate, sure; unmatched speed and strength, naturally; but then she found something rather strange.

The data collected from the trials could be **_predicted _**because of the numbers. They were part of a consistent pattern, one that she could decode and possibly use to infer the results of the weekly trials. If her assumptions proved correct, she wouldn't have to torture Soldier at all.

Of course, she would have to be able to sell the lie to Pierce… she would need some help from Soldier to pull that off. Excited, she glanced at him only to see his attention was still solely on the target.

Knowing that if she didn't speak, he would not, Zelda sighed and hesitantly moved forward. Her heels clicked painfully loudly on the floor—Soldier heard her coming and merely glanced her way before resuming his chore.

The next knife was his last one; it hit the target, same as the others. They were all assembled in a strange collage on a completely destroyed board.

As he went to retrieve his weapons, Zelda cleared her throat and said, "That was very impressive."

He was silent as he yanked the daggers out of the wall. The girl watched hopelessly and added, "I've heard you're also very good at wielding pistols?"

Still nothing.

"Mind if I see it?"

At last, Soldier turned around. His blue eyes were still filled with dislike, which disheartened Zelda. She wished there was something she could say that was genuine and not just in HYDRA's interest, but she was completely blank. All she knew was that she wanted to help him… she wouldn't be able to do that, however, if he did not trust her.

Zelda observed Soldier as he walked over to a table and set down all the knives. Silently, he grabbed a Tauris pistol and aimed it at the target.

Three shots, all one after the other. All three were in the exact same spot, straight in the middle of the bulls-eye.

Seeing this, Zelda's mouth dropped open. For a moment, she simply stared at the imprints… no one in HYDRA had anywhere near as much skill as Soldier did, and he'd only shot a pistol three times. Who **_knew _**what he would be able to do with a different gun.

Realizing that her shock must've appeared ridiculous, however, Zelda closed her mouth and cleared her throat again. After a moment, she announced, "That was the best I've ever seen anyone shoot. You're amazing."

He set the pistol back down and stood, glaring at the target.

"Why… why don't you come and sit down?" asked Zelda, gesturing to a table on the other side of the glass room. "I just want to ask you a few things."

Soldier nodded and proceeded to follow her outside the training area to the surveillance room, where she gestured him to sit down across from her. When he did, he glanced down at the table as if he hated her so much he would not even look at her.

Zelda wished he could've read her mind so he would see firsthand that she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to use him any way HYDRA did. She was like him, and he was like her.

"Again, Soldier, that was amazing. I don't see why Pierce wishes me to keep up with your training—your skills are unparalleled."

He finally glanced up at her, some of the stone in his gaze turned to ice as opposed to rock. She figured this was a good sign. "At any rate, I've taken a look at all these files… and frankly, I find these supposed trials to be useless. Therefore, I've made the decision to discontinue them."

"What?!" he finally exclaimed. Zelda was pleased to hear he'd spoken. Although it was a rather unceremonious first word, it would have to do.

"I've decided to discontinue your trials," repeated Zelda. "They're useless at this point. What's the point in persisting?"

He blinked and stared at her, the hatred in his eyes transformed into shock and disbelief. "You can't do that. They won't let you."

"I **_can _**do it, and I will," retorted Zelda. "And they won't know. The data they've collected in the past contains clear patterns—I can use those patterns to determine what the data would be for the weekly trials. If I am correct, they'll swallow the fake statistics with no complaints."

Soldier shook his head, though he was silent.

Zelda leaned forward, not eager to let the conversation go so easily. "But if I am going to pull this off, Soldier, I am going to need **_your _**help. You will need to attest that I've been sticking to their rules and regulations if we are to discontinue this horrific process."

"Why are you doing this," he muttered. His eyes were hard again as he looked at her.

"Because I believe that this is wrong," she answered simply, leaning back in her chair. "No one deserves the treatment you've been dealt. I'm trying to help you, Soldier, but I will not be able to if you won't let me."

"I don't understand."

"I wouldn't expect you to. But think about this: do you honestly believe that all people are like Pierce, or others in HYDRA? Don't you believe that there's some **_good _**in this world?"

At this, Soldier grinned without humor. "If there is, I have yet to find it."

"If you want to find it, you're going to have to trust me," replied Zelda, shrugging her shoulders. "I want to help you, Soldier."

He raised an eyebrow and mimicked her posture. Zelda restrained a smile—he was paying attention and was invested in what she was saying. She thought sadly that perhaps this was the first time anyone had really talked to him.

"I don't know if I **_can _**trust you. You wouldn't be the first person to try and gain my trust only to use it to her own advantage."

Zelda became sad at this. "In that case, I don't blame you for your reluctance. But if you'll give me a chance, I can prove my sincerity."

After a pause, Soldier nodded.

The girl sighed and smiled. How was she going to gain his trust?

Well, usually people began to trust each other by becoming friends.

Now the question was—how was she going to become his friend?

She frowned to herself as she thought. What could she do that would get him to trust her? She didn't want it to do with anything HYDRA; certainly not. After all, they were the reason she was doing this. They'd just awakened him for his next mission the past week…

Then it hit her.

In order to become his friend, she would need to introduce him to things he had missed that were unrelated to HYDRA at all. That way, they would have something else to talk about.

And she knew exactly what to introduce him to first.

"Have you ever heard of The Beatles?"

Her sudden and bizarre question caught Soldier off-guard. He blinked and looked around warily before answering, "You mean… the insect?"

Zelda had to restrain a grin as he replied. He had absolutely **_no clue _**about what the modern world was like, or what had happened while he'd been frozen. Excited, she ripped a sheet of paper out of her notepad—"I want you to listen to these songs," she said, writing down three of The Beatle's most famous songs: _Hey Jude_, _I Want to Hold Your Hand_, and _All You Need is Love. _

"What?"

"Go on the Internet and find these songs. Listen to them."

"What is the Internet?"

Zelda froze. She hadn't been expecting this question. She thought for a moment and soon figured she could give him some help. "Here, I'll show you…"

She pulled out her smartphone and revealed the Internet icon. Pointing to the blue "e," she said, "**_That _**is the signal for the Internet. Then, type in the title of the song, and voila!" She showed him her phone, which had a link to _Hey Jude_ on it.

Before long, the song started playing.

Soldier looked at the phone quizzically. "Is that a music box?"

She struggled to hold back her laughter. "No—this is a cell phone. People use it to call each other." She refrained from using the word "text," because he surely didn't know what that was and she didn't want to overwhelm him.

Silence took over them for a while as The Beatles' music continued playing. Every now and then, she glanced at Soldier's face to see how he was taking it… she was happy to see that a small smile was on his face.

It was the most normal he'd looked since she saw him.

Once the music faded, Zelda exited the link and said, "You can get on the Internet on a computer or a cell phone… Anywhere, really. Do you know what a computer is?"

"Actually, yes," he replied, seemingly a bit surprised.

"Great. Then you can go look at these other two songs before we meet here tomorrow," said Zelda, handing him the sheet of paper.

Soldier, however, looked surprised. "Wait, we aren't… going over training?"

"Nope!" exclaimed Zelda, shouldering her bag. "Do you **_honestly _**think you need it? Because I don't. Have a nice life, dear, I'll see you at 8AM sharp, okay? Or… 10AM, for my own sake. Tomorrow's Friday, I hope you understand."

"Hold on—what do I do until then?"

Zelda smiled at him and shrugged. "Whatever you want! Go take a walk, catch a movie, eat some fast-food, whatever strikes your fancy! If I were you, I'd go and try this thing called popcorn—"

"I know what that is."

"Brilliant! Only ten million more things to try," laughed Zelda. By this time, she had reached the door. "Good luck, Soldier. I hope you enjoy your day off." And with that, she exited the room, her small spurt of success fueling her good mood.

* * *

Zelda's got a long way to go to win Soldier's trust and friendship, doesn't she? But she is certainly going to try! :)

Please review with questions, comments, concerns, and all that jazz!


	4. Soldier

Ms. Bellefleur was different.

At first, he'd hated her. He was certain that she would be a mindless monster, a girl with absolutely no conscious. He figured that Pierce was being cruel, bringing a pretty girl to come and torment him probably even worse than Dr. Ewing had. At least he'd fallen into an **_accident…_**

Soldier had to resist smirking to himself recalling the little stage he'd set Ewing's demise in. He guessed he was glad he did it, because now he got rid of that psychotic nut and replaced him with a girl who was probably just as crazy—but at least she was crazy in a nicer way.

Honestly, though, he just thought she was weird.

He stared after her as she exited, leaving him dumbfounded. Why did she want him to look up some songs by bugs?

With an irritated sigh, he wondered if this was some sort of new test that Pierce wanted on him. Thinking this, half of him wanted to tear the paper into pieces, if only just to spite him.

The other half, however, had liked the first song Bellefleur had shown him. He wanted to hear more.

Caught by indecision, Soldier stared at the paper. But of course, he only ended up thinking about how abnormal she had been compared to the rest of them. He tried to figure out her game—was she just pretending to be nice at first so she could hurt him later? Maybe she was being sincere when she claimed she would stop the trials…?

He sighed to himself. Guess he'd find out tomorrow. After all, trials were always on Fridays.

But there was still the question of if he was going to listen to those songs.

After another moment of hesitation, he decided to. What was there to lose?

He stood up and walked towards the exit, glad that he at least knew his way around the building. He almost never got to go outside, but when he did, he could remember the streets relatively well, however much they shocked him. After all, New York City—at least, he was pretty sure that's what this place was called—was **_huge. _**

Soldier walked out of the building, somehow unnoticed. He reveled in the freedom he so rarely got to experience and then set off down the sidewalk. When he glanced further on, however, he saw Ms. Bellefleur only thirty feet ahead of him.

He blinked. She'd probably gotten lost a few times; that was the only logical explanation for how he'd caught up to her so quickly.

Seeing her, he turned the other direction.

For a while, Soldier just walked around the city, observing the bustling streets and crazy life. It was so bizarre—before, New York City had only been a few big stone buildings and a dirt road. But not anymore.

Eventually, he found a library, where he knew there were computers. Satisfied, he walked inside and found one away from other people so they wouldn't get mad at his lack of those devices that he thought were called "headphones."

When he played the two songs, Soldier was astonished. He had liked the first one Bellefleur had written down—_I Want to Hold Your Hand_—even more than _Hey Jude. _He surprised himself by clicking on another link to a different song, one that she **_hadn't _**written down.

Somehow, he ended up listening to the whole album of The Beatles 20 Greatest Hits. By the time he finished, it was almost four in the afternoon.

Shocked that he had actually enjoyed what Bellefleur had suggested, he returned to HYDRA headquarters, not quite sure what else to do.

But as he reentered the training room and picked up the knives again, Soldier thought something strange.

Maybe Bellefleur **_was _**trying to help him. She'd been truthful so far.

If, however, she wanted to prove herself, she still had a long way to go.

* * *

I hope the sudden change in POV didn't confuse anyone! Just for clarification, whenever Soldier or some other thing that doesn't say "Chapter X" comes up, it's from Soldier's perspective. Hopefully that helps! :)

I only plan on having a Soldier POV chapter like, once every three regular chapters or so. I'll probably post these ones in the middle of the week, seeing as they're smaller than the normal chapters.

Hope everyone enjoyed!

Please review!


	5. Chapter 4

It was 9AM when Zelda awoke the following morning.

Groaning, she got up to see that _Doctor Who _was still running on continuation, and that her room was a mess. She had taken off her skirt the moment she'd gotten home and threw it across her room—her shirt was rumpled and her hair was probably a rat's nest.

"Great," she muttered to herself. "I've got one hour to clean up and get to work. Perfect."

Knowing that time was of the essence, she grumbled to herself before hastily putting on the same pencil skirt as yesterday. Today, however, instead of tying her hair in a fancy bun, she decided a ponytail would be much easier. It wouldn't be as tangled once she took it out, anyway.

Satisfied for the most part, she turned off Netflix and rushed out of her apartment, taking care to put the fake data she'd manipulated the previous night into her suitcase as she did.

By the time she got to the HYDRA headquarters, it was five minutes until 10AM. Knowing that she would have to run to get to the place on time, Zelda sighed and shouldered her bag determinedly before setting off down the halls.

Since she'd gotten lost the previous night and taken some notes as to how to get through the labyrinth of impossibly long and various corridors, she didn't have as much trouble getting back to the training room as she'd had getting out of it before. When she finally arrived, Soldier was there, a Glock in his hand, pointed at another target.

Suddenly, five shots were fired—they formed the five points of a star, which made Zelda raise her eyebrows. She carefully walked through the glass door and said softly so she wouldn't startle him, "That was amazing, Soldier."

Though she knew he'd heard her, he didn't turn around. Instead, he aimed once more and fired. The sound was deafening and filled the space; in the center of the star he'd created was another bullet hole.

"And I'm supposed to inspect your training," snorted Zelda. "A waste of time, if you ask me. It's clear you don't need to be inspected."

At last, he faced her, the look in his blue eyes unreadable. She supposed this was a good sign—at least he didn't openly detest her like he might have the previous day.

That was when Soldier shrugged. "They deem it necessary."

"Well, it's ridiculous," chuckled Zelda, pointing to the perfectly formatted star upon the target. "If that doesn't prove my case, I don't know what will."

Soldier shrugged hesitantly and put the Glock back on the racks on the side of the room. Zelda watched him as he did—it seemed like whenever he walked, if he wasn't holding something, he fists would clench as if he expected someone to hurt or fight him at any moment. His dark hair was pulled back somewhat, probably so he could see the target clearer. As he walked over to her, Zelda could see that his blue eyes, while less hostile, were still observant and cautious.

With a smile, she gestured him back to the table they were sitting at the previous morning. This time, he nodded and followed her—once they were across from each other, Zelda smiled. "Since I haven't already said so, good morning, Soldier. I certainly hope yours went better than mine."

"What happened?"

"I slept longer than I meant to and was almost terribly late, I'm afraid," she sighed. "As it is, I apologize for keeping you waiting."

Soldier frowned. "I was only here for five minutes."

"Regardless, I wasn't here on time, so sorry about that. Anyway… jumping back on the strange topic I introduced you to yesterday. Did you listen to those two songs?"

To her excitement, he nodded. "I liked them," he responded, which made Zelda grin.

"Excellent! Which one was your favorite?"

He thought for a moment. "I think _I Want to Hold Your Hand. _But _Hello Goodbye _was good too."

Hearing this, Zelda nodded eagerly and was about to respond—but then she realized something. With a smile threatening to come over her face, she said, "Wait a minute. I didn't assign you that song, did I?"

Soldier froze too. It appeared he had forgotten she'd only given him three songs. "Uh…" he murmured, but then he shrugged. "I may or may not have listened to all of their twenty greatest hits…"

The smile forced its way onto her face. "That's excellent," she replied sincerely. "I had hoped you would like the Beatles. They were very popular in the 60s and 70s, but they are still well-known and loved even today, fifty years later. They are one of the few bands that have truly transcended through time."

"I understand why."

"Exactly. So I take it you enjoyed their music?"

He nodded.

"Then I have another assignment for you, Soldier. Are you ready for it?" Noting his nod, Zelda smiled and passed him a sheet of paper upon which she had written three different television shows: I Love Lucy, Star Trek, and Saturday Night Live (early episodes).

She watched as he looked at the titles. Once he had read them, he looked up and asked, "What are these?"

"These are three television shows that were exceedingly popular in a specific decade. For instance, I Love Lucy was huge in the 50s, Star Trek in the 60s. Saturday Night Live began in 1975 and continues to this day. I'm going to let you choose one, and then I want you to watch one episode of that show. So which one will it be?"

Instead of choosing one, however, Soldier frowned. "Wait—I don't understand. I mean, I know I have to choose one, but I don't think there will be access to that television thing around here."

Zelda smirked. "Leave that to me. If you pick one, we can get started."

Soldier sighed, but decided to trust her. He then picked Star Trek.

Seeing what he had chosen, she nodded in agreement. "Wonderful—I liked this one the best anyway." Happily, she rose from her chair; "Now, follow me."

Knowing that he had no other choice, Soldier rose and followed his eccentric supervisor out of the room.

Zelda was pleased with how things were going. Yesterday, she wouldn't have dared to dream that she might be able to properly introduce Soldier to the real world so easily. Even though he was careful and quiet, he was proving to be quite adaptable despite the strangeness of her requests.

As she walked through the halls, she muttered to herself about where she'd accidentally found it the night before…

"Are you looking for something?" asked Soldier, but right when he asked, she found it.

"I was," she answered, "but now I've located it!" With triumph, she brought out the keys that Pierce had given her the day before and unlocked the white door in front of her—once that was done, she opened it and gestured him inside.

It was a small, deserted lounge. Since there were hardly any people within the Special Projects Departments, it was almost always locked… or at least, that's what Pierce had said. Inside was a coffee machine that needed to be replaced, a couch, a working mini-fridge, and a television.

"Here is where you'll be able to come!" exclaimed Zelda proudly, glad that she'd stumbled upon this room.

"What if it's locked?"

Zelda glanced at her keys, then shrugged. "Here." And she threw them to Soldier, who caught them in midair and looked at her quizzically. "Well, I'm not going to come here often. The coffee machine is broken, anyway."

He looked at the machine and smirked. "It is a little worn down."

"You think?" laughed Zelda. The pot was quite dusty, and a chunk of the glass was completely missing. Shaking her head, she grabbed the remote and hoped the television was at least working…

Her hopes were rewarded. It turned on—now for the true test… Aloud, she murmured, "Please tell me this thing has connectivity to Netflix…"

"Netflix? What's that?"

Zelda gasped and turned to face him. "What is Netflix! What is Netflix, he says!" she cried, her light brown eyes wide. Soldier blinked uncomprehendingly. With a discouraged groan, she sighed and said, "Netflix is my best friend! My **_only _**friend, mind you, but my best one all the same! Except for Robbie."

"Robbie?"

"Never mind about him for a minute. Anyway, Netflix… Netflix is a magical place where almost everything that's been broadcasted on television resides. There are countless movies and television shows on here… _Star Trek _should certainly be within its depths. I just—I can't believe you've lived without Netflix. Honestly. It's kind of an integral part of my life."

"I can tell," grumbled Soldier, but Zelda chose to ignore him.

After a minute, she finally found the connectivity. Ecstatic, she exclaimed, "Yes!" and showed him the remote. "The buttons are labeled, so you shouldn't have a problem there. Now, see that search box? Just type in Star Trek and you should get results for the TV show. Be careful that you don't click on the movie!"

"There's a movie?"

"When something's been around for more than forty years, it tends to get remade. So yeah, there's a movie."

That was when Soldier located the television show and, with Zelda's help, started to play it. She smiled and watched for a few seconds before declaring, "I'll be back in a few minutes, Soldier. I have to go locate the room where trials take place so I can make it look like I'm actually working."

He frowned, but asked, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Certainly not—I don't want you to have to go anywhere near that place. I'll find it eventually, and I should be back by the time this episode is over. If that is the case, I expect an adequate summary of the episode when I return, and then I'll introduce you to pizza."

Here, Soldier laughed. Zelda was beyond pleased with the sound—it meant he was starting to open up to her, if only a little. "I've had pizza before, Ms. Bellefleur. I'm not **_that_** old."

She was shocked upon hearing him call her Ms. Bellefleur. "Oh, Soldier, please call me Zelda. My last name is too formal—besides, it's what Pierce calls me, and I don't like him."

Zelda was rewarded with another chuckle. "That makes two of us, then…"

Since she didn't know what to say, she only smiled and watched him for a moment. It was strange, how normal he seemed; if someone were to just pass by him on the sidewalk, they would never guess that he'd been inconsistently frozen for seventy years. Clearing her throat and forcing herself to focus—she had to find the trial room—she said, "All right. Like I said, I'll be back soon. And if Pierce happens to stumble upon you, be sure to tell him that we ran trials at ten o'clock this morning, and that I ordered you to watch this and wind down before supervising your training. You got that?"

"Trials at ten, Star Trek to relax, training afterward. Got it."

"Okay." And with that one word, Zelda turned and exited the lounge, being sure to close the door behind her.

Alone now, she set off down the hallways in the meager hope that she would be able to locate the trial room without getting hopelessly lost or running into Pierce. That would be the last thing she needed… For him to show up and blow her cover.

Luckily, within the next five minutes, she managed to find it. Upon the door was a sign labeled "Project Red Experimentation," so that sort of gave it away. When she entered the room, Zelda had to restrain a horrified gasp.

The room was small, and separated into sections with cage-like wiring. Heavy metal doors surrounded the room, and it was all but empty except for a black reclining chair in the back. She knew what it was used for…

Uncertainly, Zelda stepped further into the room. She was the only one there, and it unnerved her. She felt the rage and high electric potential within these walls; she decided this was her least favorite place out of the new section of the building. Besides, Soldier had been tortured here. If that wasn't enough of a reason to hate the room more than any other, she didn't know what was.

Zelda felt her eyes narrow as she glared at the chair. But however much she detested it, she knew she had to walk forward and inspect it to see if there were any memory banks that would give her scam away. Unfortunately, she found one rather quickly, and she knew that if she was going to pull this off, she would need to be very thorough.

So she turned on the device—she watched in horrid fascination as the chair automatically locked over the arms of it, as if to keep the person's arms strictly down. When Zelda looked down, the same could be said for the person's feet. If someone had actually been sitting there, they would've been trapped.

When she looked back up, Zelda could see two long rods lowering over where the person's face would've been. A flash of light blinded her in the darkness of the room, and she grew sick just thinking about seeing **_anyone _**here, much less Soldier exclusively.

Because of this thought, she rushed and turned the device off. Her imagination was too vivid for her own good; her face was pale and her eyes were wide, and she hadn't even been watching a real person being tortured.

All the same, she put one hand to her forehead. It was probably just **_knowing _**that Soldier had been there for countless weeks that made her woozy.

Knowing that she needed a few minutes to herself, Zelda sat on the floor and looked over the false data she'd written to prescribe to the patterns of the previously collected data. Now that she'd imagined what horror Soldier had gone through, she was even more determined to keep him **_away _**from that infernal chair, **_away _**from Pierce's sick tests. She had to be doubly sure it was believable…

She didn't know how long she sat there, but Zelda eventually heard the door open. But she didn't look up. She had a relatively good idea of who it was.

"Ms. Bellefleur," announced Alexander Pierce's voice. "Good to see you. I've been searching for you—the training room was empty, so I thought I'd come here. What are you doing here?"

"Observing this data," responded Zelda truthfully. But then she started sprinkling in the lies. "I obtained it this morning after Soldier's first trial."

Pierce nodded and smiled. "Good, good… would you mind if I looked at it?"

Zelda held her breath as she relinquished the folder to him. It was time to see if her assumptions were correct, if her scheme would pay off…

He looked at the numbers for a moment before chuckling and handing it back. "And here I thought you would have a hard time learning your new position all by yourself."

With these words, Zelda could breathe again. Knowing, however, that she had to respond, she reflected his smile even though she knew it didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you, sir. You see, I can learn my way around rather quickly—it's just the original transition that leaves me flabbergasted."

"That's understandable," said Pierce. "But Ms. Bellefleur, where is Soldier now?"

"In the lounge," replied Zelda, again truthfully. "I told him to go and wait for me there, watch a bit of Star Trek while I finalize and check this data. I'll probably order lunch before we begin training and observing."

Pierce raised an eyebrow. "Star Trek_, _eh? That sounds familiar."

At this, she grinned. "Well, I figured if I'm going to be spending so much time observing him and whatnot, we might as well have **_something _**to talk about."

"Very true, very true," mumbled Pierce. He put his hands in his pockets and smiled again. "Well, Bellefleur, you've done exceptionally well for yourself so far. I knew you were the right one for the job."

"Thank you again sir, that's high praise, coming from you."

"You deserve it. I shall leave you to your job, now. I hope to see many good things out of you and Soldier while you're on this position."

Since Zelda only nodded and saluted, Pierce was silent as he exited the room, the metal door slamming shut with a loud _BANG! _

She waited for a minute before leaving the room as well. Her return to the lounge took much less time than it took to get there, seeing as she had a relatively good idea of where she was going.

When Zelda returned, the episode of Star Trek was just ending.

She smiled as his eyes narrowed in concentration—a sign of investment. That was good; very good. All the same, she didn't want to disrupt him from the ending of the episode, so for another couple of minutes, she was silent.

When, however, the credits started rolling, Zelda smiled and asked, "So how was it?"

He blinked and looked at her. It appeared he wasn't quite with it yet. "Great," he replied simply. "I don't know how else to put it."

"That's all right. I don't expect you to. While I would normally ask you for a summary of the episode, the attention you were giving the show when I walked in was enough proof for me to know that you were making an effort."

Soldier grinned sideways so that it was almost a smirk, but he said nothing.

Knowing that it was almost noon and that she had skimped on breakfast that morning, Zelda sighed and exclaimed, "Are you hungry? Because I'm **_starving. _**And I want pizza. There's a Pizza Hut just around the corner, so I can order it to come here. Then if you wanted, we could start the next episode."

He started to smile—but then his eyebrows furrowed together. "Why are you doing this?"

Zelda's grin began to diminish. "What?"

"Why are you doing this? Why are you introducing me to things of the past—why are you being nice?"

Though of course she should have expected him to be wary of her for much longer, Zelda couldn't help the slight deflation his question brought. She had misinterpreted his adapting for trust… "I'm being nice because I want to help you and get to know you," she replied. "I don't believe in a single thing that HYDRA is doing—to either you, me, or millions of others. I didn't ask to be here."

Soldier chuckled darkly. "Neither did I, Ms. Bellefleur."

"Zelda," she corrected. "But yes. You and I are one the same when it comes to our participation in this place. And the reason I'm introducing you to these things… haven't you already figured it out?"

"No."

"I'm doing it so you can have more of a life outside of HYDRA. You don't deserve to be treated like their slave, or their mascot, or their assassin, or whatever they need you to be. You deserve much more; they haven't given you anything. No hint, no clue, no information about the world. I wanted to try and make up for it, however meagre my attempts might seem."

At her words, Soldier looked at her quizzically. But upon seeing the look in her eyes, his own widened. But still he was quiet.

Zelda, however, was determined to be the one to **_get _**an answer now instead of **_give. _**Usually she was the one filling the silences—not this time.

And so, one minute later, it was Soldier who spoke. His voice was hesitant. "It's strange, having someone claim to want to help. I don't see why you would want to."

"Because you're a **_person_**," sighed Zelda. "You are a human too. And, to be honest, when I first saw you, I saw a bit of myself in you. You remind me of who I was when I was first forced into HYDRA. And seeing that with **_you, _**I wanted to spare you from uncertainty and pain as much as I could. After all, if someone had wanted to help me, I would've become a much different person."

With this, Soldier was again quiet. He looked down at the table for a moment before finally looking back up at Zelda. Then, he shrugged and said, "Then thank you… Zelda."

The use of her first name made her smile. "Now—how about some pizza? I'm still starving."

"Sure, I guess. I know I said I've had it before, but it's probably changed since then…"

With this, she laughed and grabbed her phone to call Pizza Hut.

* * *

Starting to get somewhere with Soldier, aren't we? That's a step in the right direction!

I'll probably update again at the beginning of the week... By the way, in case you haven't noticed, I lied when I said I'd only update twice a week. I DO WHAT I WANT! XD

Please review with comments, questions, predictions, etc.!


	6. Chapter 5

By the end of the day, Zelda was feeling great. She and Soldier had somehow managed to get through three more episodes of Star Trek before going to train. Zelda was astonished by his skill in practically anything lethal. She was pretty sure she could give him a hairclip and he would turn it into a weapon.

Once it was six o'clock in the evening, however, Zelda had to say good-bye. "I'll see you on Monday, all right?" she grinned at Soldier as others began walking past the training room to go home. "Try not to have too much fun without me."

"If by that you mean don't have a long marathon of Star Trek_, _I can't make you any promises."

She laughed and waved before leaving, thinking about what had been accomplished over the day. After their lunch of Pizza Hut's pizza—which Soldier declared was very different from the 1940s version of pizza—he had begun to open up a little more. He smiled more often, laughed once or twice, and generally allowed himself to be normal while around her.

Zelda figured that she could probably call him her friend now, though it was a strange thought.

Before long, she found that her feet carried her to Schwarma, even though she'd already had fast-food for lunch. With a shrug, she figured she could hit the gym later at night since she wouldn't have to be at work tomorrow. Besides, where Zelda's feet were **_really _**leading her was to Robbie, whom she wanted to tell about her good day, her good mood was that contagious.

The moment she walked into the restaurant, she heard a loud gasp. "Miss Sally Sunshine approacheth! What happened, honey, give me the scoop, I want all the deats!"

"What makes you think something important happened?" asked Zelda innocently, raising an eyebrow.

Robbie scoffed and waved hand. "It's cute, how you think I can't read your face like an open book. Now spill."

Finally, Zelda dropped her façade of puzzlement and laughed. "All right, all right," she sighed. "So I had a good day at work."

He gasped. "A miracle!"

"I know, right? Anyway, I met this guy today who's been like… isolated. Like—**_out _**of it. He hardly knows anything about big cities and the modern world. For crying out loud, I introduced him to Netflix today."

Robbie gasped, though Zelda had a suspicion that it was a tad over dramatized for her story. He knew about her all-but obsessive love for Netflix.

"Exactly," she continued, not bothered by his interruption. As a matter of fact, she rather enjoyed it. "So I've introduced him to that today, so that was fun. It was much better than normal."

"That's fantabulous!" exclaimed Robbie, slamming his hands excitedly on the counter. "I'm happy for you, dear. I need to meet this guy ASAP, just so you know. When will you bring him in?"

Zelda thought for a moment. "Maybe Monday or Tuesday night. I don't know yet. I'll keep you posted."

"Wonderful! By the way, what happened to mission 'get-Grain-off-your-ass?'"

For a moment, she had no idea what Robbie was talking about. But then she remembered her predicament with her **_ex_**-coworker—that felt so good to think—and she laughed. "I don't know if I'll need to fool him anymore, Robbie! The reason I met Mr. Isolated today was because I've been promoted, so I don't work with Grant anymore, thank God."

Her friend chuckled. "No wonder you're so cheery today."

She nodded wholeheartedly. "Getting rid of Grant was certainly a contributing factor."

"Great! Now, buy something to celebrate! A chocolate milkshake—you love those. If I get caught 'not doing my job,' as he says, my boss will be upon my ass like files to amber, honey, and that's not pretty for me."

With a wild grin on her face, Zelda nodded. "All right, I'll have a chocolate milkshake then."

Robbie grinned and, after Zelda paid, rushed to the kitchen to prepare said chocolate milkshake.

Knowing that _Supernatural _could wait for another half-hour, Zelda sat at one of the tables and began to think about what had happened the past two days. Somehow, she felt lighter today than she had on Tuesday or Wednesday… after a moment, she figured out why that was.

It was because she'd finally found someone in the same position as her. And she was helping him—she was able to do something at HYDRA that she **_didn't _**regret or hate or wish she could burn. Helping Soldier adjust to the modern world, and sparing him from an unnecessary pain, was the most noble thing she'd been able to do while at work, and she reveled in the sense of goodness that it brought.

Before she knew what she was doing, Zelda had torn out another sheet of paper from her notepad and grabbed a pencil. She had written down numbers in a column, as if to make a list.

Realizing what she had done, she blinked. Why had she made a list?

But the answer was obvious. She wanted to make a list of things to introduce to Soldier over time.

Grinning, Zelda quickly wrote down The Beatles_, _Netflix, and Star Trek_. _She put check marks next to them to indicate that she'd already done those three things… Then she wrote down Schwarma, the Smithsonian, Nirvana, Queen, Lord of the Rings, Starbucks, I Love Lucy, Saturday Night Live…

After that, however, she was admittedly stuck. The whole "history" aspect she could experiment with later—right now, Zelda wanted to focus on stuff that would be interestingly new to someone who had no idea how the modern world worked.

When Robbie reemerged with her chocolate shake, he glanced at the list. Before he could make a comment, Zelda piped up. "Robbie, help me! If you had just met someone who'd lived on an island for like, fifty years—and they'd somehow survived and eventually made their way back to society—what would you want to introduce them to?"

Said Robbie without hesitation, "Star Wars."

Zelda's mouth dropped open. "**_No…_**"

"What?"

"He doesn't know anything about Star Wars."

"**_WHAT?!_**" shrieked Robbie as if he'd just been mortally wounded. He glanced around hesitantly for any sign of his boss—seeing none, he repeated in a hushed, yet no less intense whisper, "You mean he doesn't know who Luke's father is?!"

At this point, Zelda was no less than delighted. "No! He doesn't!"

"Oh, honey… you gotta show him. Or I'll refuse to meet him for the rest of my life—just the thought of someone not knowing what Star Wars is makes my skin curl. I need a bath now. Great. Thanks, Zelda."

The heartfelt disappointment in Robbie's voice made Zelda laugh. With a decent list, a delicious chocolate shake, and heavy excitement for showing Soldier the greatest cinematic reveal of all time, she was quite satisfied.

* * *

The anticipation of revealing Star Wars to Soldier made the weekend painfully slow for Zelda.

She found herself taking more walks, more naps, and more Netflix than usual in order to pass the time. While normally she would be doing some cleaning or online classes for a college degree in chemistry—thank goodness for online college, maybe someday she'd actually be able to get a life—those things were much too mundane for her this weekend. The excitement was beginning to eat her alive, which was a strange feeling. She hadn't been so excited for work since her first week at SHIELD.

With a small smile and a shrug, Zelda simply let it consume her.

At last, it was Monday, and she woke up with a smile on her face, which was extremely abnormal. She was **_not _**a morning person, and even less so of a Monday person.

Yet here she was, humming in the shower.

"What the actual," she muttered to herself with a laugh at her own silly anticipation. She rolled her eyes at herself upon thinking, _It's the Force. The Force wants Soldier to know who Luke's father really is._

Within the next half-hour, Zelda was dressed and walking towards the subway. It was only a few minutes until she reached the station; she smiled to a few people and waved to a small girl that had a lollipop in her hand. Once she boarded the tram, she looked around and shrunk back.

Grant was lounging leisurely on the opposite side of the tram. His muscular friend whom Zelda knew was named Jeremiah Bunk was conversing with him. Neither of them seemed to have noticed her—Zelda carefully hid herself behind the others sitting next to her, hoping and praying that they wouldn't decide to amble over and start a conversation…

Luckily, her wishes were answered. Grant and Bunk remained ignorant to her presence; but as soon as the subway stopped, she darted off and began walking as fast as her legs and boots would allow toward the lobby.

Just as she thought she was free, however, Zelda heard Grant exclaim, "Ah, Zelda!"

She yanked open the door, pretending not to have heard him. But he was fast, and because of her boots—damn the heels of her shoes—he caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

With a yelp, Zelda was spun around and forced to face Grant, who was smirking cockily, his brown eyes gleaming underneath his blond hair. "Good morning, Ms. Bellefleur," he exclaimed. "Might I ask how your weekend was?"

"Very busy," responded Zelda, knowing that to say anything else would be unwise. "I had many things to attend to."

"Such as? I know you aren't in the International Relationships Department anymore… What a shame, you were the best we had!"

"Perhaps the reason for my transfer was to let the others have some experience," gasped Zelda. His grip on her arm was rather tight, as if to ensure that she wouldn't try to run away. "In fact, I'm late for my new position, so let me go."

Grant smiled with mock sympathy. "Ah, but it's been days since last I've seen you, Zelda, and may I be allowed to say I've missed your company?"

"Well, you've already said it so apparently you don't need my permission," retorted she, her eyes narrowing. It seemed like she would have to fight for her own freedom. "Now seriously, Grant, despite my transfer, we are still within the same building underneath the same boss, and that boss will not be happy if either of us are late. Now release me, please."

"To me, being punished is worth spending these rare moments with you," said Grant, drawing slightly closer. It wasn't anything threatening, but enough to make Zelda very uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to speak again, but then someone else's voice cut him off—

"Zelda?"

She whirled towards the sound. It was Soldier, who looked utterly confused. But seeing the palpable relief upon her face, a stony expression appeared on his.

"Soldier," she murmured, trying to yank her arm away from Grant, who was staring at Soldier with a mixture of surprise and dislike. Because of his divided attention, she was able to pry herself free. Without wasting any time, she speed-walked toward Soldier, who was glaring at Grant as if he knew what a pain in Zelda's ass he was.

"Sorry I'm late," she sighed once she was beside him.

"It's quite all right," he replied without looking at her. Both Soldier and Grant were observing each other, analyzing and depicting what the other was like. Apparently, their dislike of the other was mutual. "It appears it was not your fault," he added.

Well, Zelda knew who **_she _**liked better.

Trying to contain her smugness upon seeing Grant's expression, she only said, "Good day, Grant," and then added to Soldier, "Here—I believe today is observing semi-automatics."

Soldier nodded gruffly and abruptly followed her as she tried not to sprint down the corridors towards the training room.

As soon as they were within the Special Projects borders, Soldier asked irately, "Who was that?"

"Grant," replied Zelda wearily. "Do not worry about him… He's been a pain of mine for the two years I've worked here. Thank you for defending me from him, but in the future I would advise against it, as I would not want for anyone to have reason to harm you. I can deal with him… Robbie is going to help me."

"How? And it would be no trouble, really…"

A small smile appeared on Zelda's face. "Thank you again, Soldier, but I will be able to manage. To answer your first question, Robbie is going to pretend to be my boyfriend in an attempt to get Grant off my case. Perhaps that will stop him from bothering me…"

"We'll see," grumbled Soldier, rolling his eyes.

At that, Zelda had to laugh. "Yes, perhaps we shall see… Now, there is this movie I would really like to introduce you to—"

Soldier, however, laughed, "If it's Harry Potter, I've already watched all those over the weekend."

Zelda whirled around and immediately launched into rapid-fire questions about his favorite character, favorite movie, did you know there were books oh you have to read the books—

After a moment she stopped and collected herself. Seeing Soldier's amused expression, she took a deep breath and said with a laugh, "Sorry… I just… Harry Potter was the first series I read as a kid. I grew up with it, and it is still my favorite to this day. Although I will confess that Lord of the Rings is a close second."

Soldier raised an eyebrow. "Apparently you are more of a nerd than I anticipated."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed with a mocking bow. "I take that as a compliment."

He rolled his eyes again and muttered, "Of course you would." But then he sobered and added, "What is this Lord of the Rings you mentioned? That sounds interesting."

Zelda grinned yet replied, "Ah, ah, patience. I cannot introduce you to all the good stuff immediately! As it was, I was going to show you something **_very _**interesting, but seeing as you've already gone ahead with Harry Potter, I'm going to postpone it. As it is, I have a different assignment for you today."

"What is that?"

"I want you to teach me how to shoot a gun."

Soldier looked incredulous. "You mean you don't know?"

She shook her head, although what she was about to say was a bit of a lie. She didn't quite know why she was lying—she knew how to shoot a pistol, but in truth, that was it. "I have absolutely no clue. But if you do that, I will figure out how to play Nirvana from some speakers. That way we **_both _**will learn something new."

At this proposition, he nodded thoughtfully. "That does sound fair… Very well, let us do that. And then are we actually going to train for semi-automatics?"

He was answered with a snort. "If you want to, I suppose…"

"Why not. I haven't touched a semi-automatic in twenty years, so…"

This statement made Zelda laugh—with that, they arrived at the training room, where she put Nirvana over the speakers and where Soldier grabbed a Glock pistol for her to begin learning how to shoot.

* * *

Sorry for the wait on the update! I've been uber busy lately, although in one week that shouldn't be a problem! Hopefully you will forgive me. :)

Please review!


	7. Chapter 6

The next few days passed by swiftly.

Zelda's progress on learning how to shoot was exceptional, according to Soldier. He didn't remember much of anything before HYDRA, but he did remember that in the Second World War, a lot of the people he fought with and against were terrible shots.

On Tuesday night, Zelda brought Soldier into Schwarma, although unfortunately Robbie wasn't working then. Despite that, she was able to introduce him to the best burgers in the world.

She was pleased to hear of his newfound obsession with the restaurant; after their first visit, it was easy to establish that every Tuesday night they would go to Schwarma for dinner.

Before long, it was Friday, and Zelda was a little sad that it was so. Because she did not work on the weekends, there would be no reason for her to return to the main HYDRA complex to introduce Soldier to anything else… He had apparently liked almost everything she put on the list, except sushi—she couldn't blame him for that one, however, seeing as it wasn't her favorite thing either.

All the same, she was a bit disheartened, knowing that she would be leaving her friend for two full days.

And with only Soldier and Robbie as her friends, that would be a very long time for Zelda.

But she pushed the thought to the side for now. After all, right now, she was in the training room with him—he was teaching her how to shoot a shotgun now, seeing as she had advanced past the basic pistols such as Glocks, Brownings, and Taurises.

"Here, don't hold your arm so rigidly," said Soldier, moving to correct her mistakes. "Or else the kickback will break your arm."

"Right," murmured Zelda. "A trip to the hospital would be a little unnecessary."

Soldier chuckled. "Right." He looked over Zelda's shoulder—she hoped she was holding the gun correctly… Apparently she was, because with a grin, he commanded, "Fire."

Zelda fired. A loud **_BANG!, _**and a large bullet-hole appeared in the wall.

Both of them sniggered. "That'll take a piece of HYDRA's paycheck to fix," giggled Zelda, mightily pleased with herself despite her horrid aim. Soldier offered her a lopsided grin before having her try again.

For another hour they did this, but finally, bad news had to appear. This time, it arrived via Alexander Pierce, who ambled in while Soldier was still training Zelda.

With a look of mild exasperation on his face, said Pierce, "Bellefleur, I thought you were supposed to be the one training Soldier, **_not _**the other way around."

"I already evaluated him this morning, sir," replied Zelda without taking her eye off the target. "I pleaded with Soldier for him to teach me how to shoot a gun, seeing as I have not been fortunate enough to learn. There had been no opportunities previously."

Although Pierce still looked a bit irritated, when Zelda shot again, his annoyance morphed into slight admiration. The bullet-hole ended up within the second ring of the target. "Well, then he isn't doing a bad job of it. Good work, Soldier."

Soldier only nodded curtly to Pierce; as always, he remained silent.

"Bellefleur, can I see you for a second?"

"Of course, sir," answered Zelda, though her heart dropped. She had already given Pierce the data of the trials—the data that she forged and he swallowed yet again. Had he somehow pieced together that it was fake? Oh, God, if he had…

With each step she took towards her boss, Zelda's heart grew heavier. She knew she had to keep her anxiety off her face, however, so she remained blank as she approached. When at last she was in front of him, she asked, "Sir?"

"Come with me," said Pierce.

Zelda was left with no choice but to follow.

He led her outside into the hallway, and there he revealed a file from behind his back. Gingerly, he held it out to her, "Here you are, Bellefleur. This is Soldier's file. It includes his age, time of service, deeds for HYDRA, trial data, name… all of that. Feel free to browse through it as you see fit."

Zelda swallowed. Was that all he had come to tell her? It was almost too good to be true. "Thank you, sir. Will that be all?"

Pierce thought for a moment; but then he nodded. "I believe so. You're doing well, Bellefleur. Continue to impress me."

With a wink, he set off down the hallway. But as Zelda turned to go back into the training room, Pierce added over his shoulder, "Oh—I almost forgot. Do not look through that file with Soldier around. That is not for his eyes. It is for yours and mine only, is that understood?"

The warning in Pierce's gray eyes was **_very _**clear.

"It is nothing if not understood, sir," replied Zelda immediately, knowing what could happen if she were to disobey.

"Excellent. I will see you on Monday. Perhaps then we can have another chat to see how your new position is treating you…"

And then he disappeared.

With a sigh, Zelda hid her newly acquired file in her jacket and reentered the training room. She plopped it on the table and walked back to Soldier, who was waiting for her there.

When she returned, he asked, "What did he want?"

"To tell me that I need to talk to him on Monday about being assigned here," she responded wearily. "As if I need to… clearly, we are both doing fine."

"He doesn't… suspect, does he?" questioned Soldier nervously.

Zelda thought for a moment—then she shook her head. "I don't think so. I've been very careful, Soldier. Besides, it did not seem like he suspected anything at all."

There was a short silence, and then; "Okay."

With a small smile, asked Zelda, "Would you like to head to the lounge?"

"Sure," was the answer, though it was not as enthusiastic as usual. In fact, it was a little hesitant, unsure. This saddened Zelda as the two walked out of the room… she wished there was something else she could say to reassure Soldier that Pierce would not find out about their scheme, but nothing came to mind.

It wasn't until Zelda almost dropped her jacket that she realized she was tightly holding the file to her chest. Despite what could be inside it, she realized she was curious about Soldier's past. She wanted to know his name, who he had been, what he was like. It was only then that she discovered she had wanted to get to know more about him…

The problem was, he didn't even remember who he had been himself.

This file might help him remember… After all, Pierce had only said the file was for her eyes, and her eyes only.

He never said anything about her not telling Soldier what she read.

A small smirk appeared on her face with this thought, though she did not realize it. Soldier noticed and said warily, "What is it?"

Zelda made her face blank again. "Oh, nothing. Sorry, Soldier… I was just thinking about something. Anyway," she blurted out before he could ask what, "how about that Star Trek?"

"Sure," he said again, though she could tell he seemed a little deflated about not knowing what she was thinking about. All the same, she couldn't tell him—not yet. She had to actually **_read _**the file first.

Robotically, Zelda grabbed the remote and set up the next episode—they were nearing the end of the second season, which meant there was only one more to watch.

Despite Soldier's concern about what Pierce had said to Zelda, he seemed to forget about it as the show progressed. And while she was glad for this, Zelda felt the papers scrunched up against her chest, as she had not put her jacket down, and her curiosity began to burn deep within her.

About halfway through the episode, she knew she could contain it no longer.

"I'll be right back," she said to Soldier.

He glanced at her, but only replied, "All right."

Knowing that now was her chance, Zelda moved off the couch, the file in her arms, and moved toward the training room so she might begin to read it.

Once there, she sat against the wall and opened the file. The first thing she saw was a picture of Soldier—yet it looked hardly like him.

In the picture, Soldier's hair was neatly cut, and he was grinning. His blue eyes were filled with carelessness, and he was wearing an old-fashioned army uniform, one that was **_clearly _**from the United States army. He looked so different, Zelda could hardly fathom it…

She thought of what Soldier looked like now. His hair was longer, almost to his shoulders. His blue eyes were usually filled with caution and fatigue, as if trying to keep up with the world was more taxing than the physical activity HYDRA forced him to do. He usually dressed in dark jeans with a black jacket; while he looked relatively modern, Soldier's lack of knowledge about the world made him a different person entirely…

That and the fact that HYDRA were manipulative bastards who used him for their own nefarious purposes.

Zelda gripped her jacket so hard her knuckles turned white. Seeing who Soldier had been before, compared to who he was **_now, _**made her angrier than ever. She was almost angrier than the time she had made the electric chair turn on and known that that was what Soldier had had to go through.

Even though she was furious, Zelda forced herself to look through the file…

Apparently, Soldier had been twenty-seven when he'd been frozen, as he was born in 1917. He'd lived in Brooklyn, New York, and had been a Sergeant for the US army in the Second World War. He'd been best friends with Steve Rogers—also known as Captain America. He'd been captured by HYDRA and experimented on by them even before he'd been officially declared as the new fist of the organization.

He had fallen off a train and into a ravine during a mission alongside Captain America: and then the Russians had found him, saved him, replaced his missing arm, and transformed him into a mindless assassin.

With a start, Zelda realized angry tears were leaking out of her eyes. It was so **_unfair, _**how they could take away his humanity and expect him to do their immoral errands all the time!

Soldier was a **_person, _**he was a **_human, _**he—

He wasn't Soldier.

Zelda had just found his name.

With a start, she darted up, knowing that no matter what Pierce might say or do, nothing would prevent her from telling him this much. He had to know something about his past, he **_had _**to… She couldn't simply look over these files and not inform him of his name.

Before another minute passed, she had burst back into the lounge. She'd hidden the file again—if he saw it, he'd want to know what it was, and she knew he wouldn't be ready to know everything about his past. But despite that, she gasped, "Soldier… you've got to hear this."

He looked at her quizzically and asked slowly, "What's going on?"

"I was… I just learned something incredible."

"What was it?"

"It's very exciting. Are you ready for it?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Zelda!" laughed Soldier. Zelda grinned—this was a good sign. He didn't laugh often; this was good. This was very good. "Just tell me what you learned!"

"It's not modern; it's something from your past."

"My past?"

"Yes. I was just told your name."  
Soldier's face morphed into incredulousness. "My… name?"

"Your name," she nodded eagerly. Zelda was excited—even more excited than she had been upon thinking that she needed to introduce him to _Star Wars, _which she still, in fact, needed to do. "I know what it is."

"You do?" he gasped.

Hearing his interest, Zelda's smile grew larger than it had been in a long time. "You tell me, James."

Soldier—James—froze. He stared at Zelda for a moment, but even as he did, the light in his blue eyes started to fade. His gaze darted around the room as if he was looking for something…

Suddenly, he bolted up. Zelda had to restrain a gasp at the suddenness of his move; while she knew he was capable of super-speed, she hadn't seen it before that moment.

After a split second of silence, James muttered, "I… need a minute." And he darted toward the door.

"Soldier?" cried Zelda, feeling immediately guilty. Perhaps she shouldn't have done it—it was premature—she upset or shocked him—no, no, "Soldier, come back!" It took a minute for her to realize she'd said this last out loud.

He didn't come back.

Zelda burst into the hallway, but thanks to his super-speed, he was already gone. She had no idea where he went, what he was thinking. All she knew was that she regretted her rash decision to tell him his name. He hadn't been ready. He'd only known her for a week, and after seventy years of being frozen and unfrozen he'd never received a hint about the past, and now she'd just gone and said his name as if it'd never been hidden from him.

More tears spiked her eyes, and with a ferocious screech, Zelda kicked the coffee table over. It toppled sideways with a loud **_clang! _**But she didn't care.

She just wanted to be able to talk to him, apologize.

She waited for a half hour, but he still didn't return.

Knowing that there was nothing else for it, Zelda sighed and rubbed a hand through her hair. She'd just made a big mistake… but at least by the time she returned on Monday, he'd have had some time to think…

All the way home, Soldier's real name echoed through her head.

James Buchanan Barnes.

* * *

Wow, today was a very busy day! Despite that, I managed to get another chapter up here for you. I hope you all enjoy! :) You can expect a mini-chapter of Soldier's/James's/Bucky's on Sunday!

It would make my day if you'd review and let me know what you think of the story so far!


	8. Soldier or James or Whoever He Was

He had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get away for a minute, he needed some time to think, some air to clear his head.

Soldier—James—whatever—wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when Zelda had told him that she knew his name. He had hoped for some sort of memory to come rushing back to him, for a spark of recognition, something that screamed, _Yes, this is your name, this is who you were!_

But nothing like that happened.

He felt the exact same as before.

And that had been nightmarish. He was still in the dark, still uncertain about everything. It was only thanks to Zelda that he was even slightly happy, and he knew that he probably worried her by barging out like that, but he couldn't help it. He needed a minute to get over his disappointment.

It took Sol—Jam—oh, **_forget it_**—a while for him to realize that he had gone further than he'd intended. He had completely left HYDRA headquarters and was outside on the sidewalk.

Zelda would worry if he didn't go back.

But he wouldn't be able to face her if he did.

So he decided to take a walk. He would see her again on Monday, anyway, it wasn't like this was the last time he'd see her or anything.

Assuming Pierce truthfully didn't know what they were doing.

The thought made his stomach churn, but Zelda had seemed confident that Pierce didn't know about the manipulated data. She sounded certain that they were not being suspected, or observed a little too closely.

He trusted her. But he still worried.

He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle the guilt if she got caught.

After another moment, Soldier/James realized he was at Schwarma. For some reason, he'd just found himself here. Maybe it was because the place reminded him of her, maybe he was just hungry. He didn't know, but he approached the counter and purchased a chocolate shake from an excessively optimistic guy with a nametag that read, "Robbie."

Something clicked in his mind upon reading the name, but Soldier—**_no, James, that's who he was_**—couldn't quite place it just yet.

When the guy returned and gave… James… his chocolate shake, however, it hit him.

"You know Zelda, don't you?"

Robbie stared at him uncertainly. "Tell me how you know her and **_then _**I'll respond. You aren't that Grain guy, are you?"

"Who?" asked So—James confusedly. But then he figured that Robbie was probably talking about Grant, that one jerk who'd tried to say or do something to Zelda earlier in the week. James remembered how angry he'd been… Grant had been doing something that made her uncomfortable, and it made James want to punch him. "Oh, **_that _**guy," he grumbled. "No, I'm certainly not him."

"Good," huffed Robbie. "In that case, I'm her bestie, and you'd do well to remember it!"

"I'll make a note," answered Ja—yes, James, raising an eyebrow. Robbie certainly seemed like a guy who knew who he was and was proud of it. James was a bit jealous of that—if he could have half of Robbie's confidence, he was sure he would've been able to go back to Zelda.

Zelda. As usual, his thoughts returned to her again. It wasn't that he **_liked_** her or anything—it was just that she had been the only person who'd ever showed him kindness. So he cared about her. He had no one else to think or care about anyway; when he wasn't training or doing something she assigned him, he was thinking about her, hoping she was happy.

"You look like you need some company," said Robbie empathetically. Without waiting for James's input, he yanked up a chair and said, "Spill. Give me all the deats."

James wasn't quite sure what he would be able to tell Zelda's friend. He certainly couldn't tell Robbie that he was a master assassin who'd been inconsistently frozen for seventy years, and that it was only thanks to his "bestie" that he was even here at all… But James figured he could tell Robbie about how alienated he'd been, and that Zelda was doing her best to help him.

As he was talking, however, Robbie gasped. "Oh, so **_you're _**the poor bugger who only just learned what Netflix is!"

"I suppose so… wait. How did you know about that?"

"Oh, dear, Zelda talks about you all the time. She's been making this list of things to show you—I've been helping. You know, it's good that you arrived, because she was miserable until you did."

"She… was?" asked James. Was it possible that he might be helping to make her happy, just as she was striving to do the same for him?

Robbie nodded gravely. "Oh, yes. She was always hit on by that Grain, and her boss made her life hell. But that's all I ever heard about… I assume there was more, but apparently your workplace is pretty strict, so she wasn't allowed to talk about it much. Despite that, she's been a right Sally Sunshine the past week!"

James smiled a little. This was good news.

"She's a really great person," said Robbie, nodding thoughtfully. "Kind, nerdy, and very pretty. That must be why Grain hits on her."

That last part irked James. But he figured that Robbie was right. After all, she was nice to him. And she was pretty. And she was **_certainly _**a nerd, as proven by the movies and music and books that she introduced him to.

He found himself chuckling, "Yeah. She's rather interesting." But something seemed weird about what Robbie was saying. Almost as if he were afraid to ask the question, James said, "Are you two together or something?"

Robbie looked scandalized. "Oh, **_no!_**" he yelped. "No, no, no, no, no! Ugh, no. I wouldn't be able to do that… She's my bestie, and that's where it's staying. It's not like it's **_her, _**or anything—if I were into girls, I'd date her—but you see, although Zelda likes guys, I'm about as straight as a rainbow, dear."

James had no idea what that meant, but he figured Robbie and Zelda weren't dating. As it was, he just smiled, hoping this was an appropriate response.

At that moment, Robbie gasped. "Oh, has Zelda shown you Star Wars yet?"

"Star Wars?"

"That bitch," sighed Robbie. James frowned at the insult—seeing it, Robbie waved his hand dismissively. "I mean it in the most loving way. Anyway, I have a question… How do you **_not _**know about Star Wars?! Did you live under a rock?"

_Under a block of ice, more like, _thought James, though he figured that to say as much would be unwise. So instead, he answered, "Something like that, yeah."

The man clucked his tongue. "Well, at least you'll have the true experience then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to work."

And Robbie dashed to welcome the next few people inside.

James sat for a moment, contemplating what he thought about Robbie. He was quite energetic and confident, and he seemed to be looking out for Zelda, which was good. He also appeared to see the best in her; after all, he had been right upon saying that she was kind and nerdy and pretty.

He smirked a little, remembering that when he'd first met her, James had **_hated _**her because he thought that underneath her pretty face was a monster. But it turned out he'd been quite wrong.

Underneath that pretty face was a good heart.

James decided it was time to return to her. He needed to explain himself…

But when he returned to the lounge, it was empty. He went to the training room as well—also empty.

With a groan, James slumped against the wall. He shouldn't have left. It made **_her _**leave. And now she probably thought that she'd done something terrible, when he was actually glad he knew his name even if it didn't trigger any memories.

At least his name was that. A name: a true name.

He wasn't just a title anymore.

Now he could be a person.

And now, he also needed to find Zelda. And he figured he knew **_exactly _**who would be able to help him do that.

* * *

Here we are, the newest Soldier/James/Bucky chapter! Huzzah! I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but due to the fact that finals start like, tomorrow and stuff, it might be a little while before I post the next chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to update during the week, but we'll see!

Thanks for reading! I appreciate it; please review! :)


	9. Chapter 7

Zelda returned to her apartment and immediately hopped in the shower. She needed the heat and time to simply relax and try to forget her mistakes.

Fifteen minutes later, however, she realized that wasn't going to do anything. The time in the shower only gave her more time to think, more time to reflect on what she'd done, and ultimately give her more time to think about James. She wasn't sure where he was, if he'd forgive her for mindlessly blurting out something so crucial to his past…

She slammed a hand to her forehead. Now that she could reflect on it, just casually blurting out his name was a rather stupid move.

Still, she thought with a sigh, he had a nice name. It was a shame she couldn't tell him the whole thing; she wasn't sure what that would do, if it would help or not.

Her stomach rumbled, signaling that she needed some dinner. It was about seven in the evening now, anyway—normal dinner time.

She got out of the shower, dried herself off, and put on some exercise shorts and a graphic t-shirt of Sonic the Hedgehog. Maybe later she'd play some Nintendo to cheer herself up—Luigi had a good beating coming his way in Mario Kart, balloon battle.

Zelda didn't know why beating up Luigi was so fun; it just was. Although beating up Daisy was just as entertaining. They were always her main two targets.

A small laugh escaped her at the childishness of her thoughts. Pounding the Mario characters at their own game would only do so much to alleviate her of her remorse.

Before she knew it, Zelda was cooking some grilled cheese sandwiches, her go-to whenever she didn't know what else to make, or whenever she didn't want to do dishes afterward. Since it was so quiet in the kitchen of her apartment, she soon hooked up her phone and blasted some Paramore, Forever the Sickest Kids, and Boys Like Girls out of the speakers that lodged atop her fridge.

Some time passed, and Zelda piled the four grilled cheese sandwiches she made onto a plate. She wasn't sure why she had made so many—maybe because the work coupled with the music took her mind off of things.

It wasn't until the door slammed open and a familiar voice shouted, "**_JESUS CHRIST, ZELDA, TURN THAT SHIT OFF!_**" that she discovered someone had been knocking for a while.

Surprised yet not really surprised at whose voice it was, she sighed and lowered the volume of her music. Without turning around, she said, "Evening, Robbie."

"I said **_off, _**bitch, not **_down,_**" huffed Robbie, ignoring her greeting.

With a laugh, she finally got rid of her music app and turned to face Robbie, making sure to cross her arms as she did. But when she turned around, her mouth dropped open.

"You have a visitor," said Robbie, suddenly sweet as pie. Beside him stood Soldier—no, James, she would have to get used to that, assuming he wanted to be called James, that was—who was smirking a little. "Unfortunately, what with your music blasting all the way to China, he was outside for a minute or so."

"Oh—" gasped Zelda, throwing her hand up to her mouth. But she didn't know what exactly to say.

James, however, just raised an eyebrow. "Your music box **_was _**pretty loud."

That made her laugh. Even though for a week of she'd been insistently telling him that the little rectangle she kept in her pocket was called a **_cell phone, _**he just as insistently declared that it was, in fact, a music box.

"I didn't know… what are you doing here?" she asked, a little conscious of the fact that she was wearing pink exercise shorts and a blue t-shirt and her hair was wet and good God she probably looked like a madwoman.

James shrugged. "I went to Schwarma and met Robbie. I remembered you talked about him once… we started a conversation."

"And I brought him back here. He was looking for you," piped in Robbie complacently.

Was it Zelda, or did James shoot him a glare?

Robbie apparently saw it too. "Well, you were," huffed Robbie, crossing his arms and whipping his curly brown hair back. He glanced between the two, and a familiar sparkle lit his eyes before he sighed dramatically and added, "Well, Zelda, I should get going. While normally I would **_love _**to stick around and eat all the food in your fridge, I have a gig tonight. Ta-ta!"

And he sauntered out of her apartment like he owned it.

Both Zelda and James watched him go; once he slammed the door shut, it was uncomfortably quiet.

After a moment, Zelda pushed the plate of grilled cheese sandwiches towards him. "Here, you should eat something," she said, "in case you haven't already. By the way, these are—"

"Grilled cheese sandwiches, I know what those are," responded James, still wearing his smirk. "I think we've already established that I'm only ninety-six years old."

"Only," snorted Zelda, grabbing another plate. "Here, then, mister '_I'm only ninety-six years old._'"

James said something in Russian that Zelda didn't understand.

Raising an eyebrow, she said, "I'm sorry, what was that? I don't speak alien."

"I said 'thank you, little brat,'" replied James, looking mightily pleased with himself.

"Well!" exclaimed Zelda haughtily, "If that's how you feel, perhaps I'll just eat all these grilled cheese sandwiches myself!"

"Please," scoffed James, "you wouldn't be able to eat all that."

"Would you like to test me, or are you going to eat the damn sandwich?"

James chuckled and grabbed one of the sandwiches before thanking her. For a moment, it was quiet as they both ate dinner—but then, Zelda asked, "So… what **_are _**you doing here, Soldier?"

"It's James," he responded, offering her a small smile.

Zelda blinked.

"I… came to apologize about my actions earlier. I'm actually quite glad you told me my name, it's just that… I had been hoping I would remember something when I heard it, but there had been nothing, and I wasn't sure what to do," he added, shrugging. His blue eyes were on the table as he spoke.

Zelda didn't need to see his eyes to know what he felt, however. She had a relatively good understanding of his confusion, relief, and disappointment all at once, even if she couldn't experience it herself.

As it was, Zelda was just relieved that she saw him again. She almost couldn't bear the thought of not knowing what he had been thinking for the weekend, so Robbie bringing him to her apartment was probably the best thing for her sanity. "You do not need to apologize for anything, James. It was my fault for being so rash—I had been so excited to be able to tell you something, my reason got away from me."

He smiled a little and grabbed a second sandwich. "I'm glad it did. I'm just sorry I burst out on you like that. I tried to go back, to find you at the headquarters, but you'd already gone…"

"I waited for a half hour," admitted Zelda.

"Had it been that long?"

"Yeah, give or take a few minutes."

James grinned, although it was sheepish. "Sorry," he murmured. Then he took a big bite of sandwich.

She shook her head and laughed, waving it off with her hand. After a moment, she happened to glance at the television in the living room section of her apartment and remembered that she'd been hoping to play Mario Kart.

"Hey," she said, a sudden idea popping into her head. "So you know I'm a nerd, right? You want to see what silly games I play in my spare time?"

"If you aren't a nerd I don't know who is," grumbled James. "But sure, why not?"

And so Zelda turned on the TV, the Nintendo Wii, and showed him how to play Mario Kart. It took him a few moments to understand the controls—or even how to **_hold _**the control—but eventually he caught on. Once that was done, Zelda set up a balloon battle and asked James to pick a character.

When he did, Zelda burst into a round of homicidal snickering.

"What?" asked James defensively.

She saw that he'd picked Luigi—"You done messed up, A-Aron," snickered Zelda.

"Isn't my name James?"

"Yes, it is, but—oh—forget it. You made a grave mistake."

"How?"

"You picked Luigi. Prepare to die."

James finally seemed to understand what she was implying. With a casual smirk, he said, "Well, I don't like the little gray turtle you picked as your character, either. So I think I'll just kill you first."

"Good luck with **_that, _**A-Aron."

And with that, they began to play. Zelda had set up the game so that eight victories for one team would secure the entire match—while her team won the first three, seeing as James was attempting to get the hang of the game, he soon made a comeback with two victories of his own.

Afterward, it got a little personal; Zelda probably called James a name once or twice, seeing as she was really competitive. She would've felt bad for doing so if he hadn't shouted at her in rapid-fire Russian when she smacked him over the edge with an invincibility star.

To annoy him, she stole another of his balloons with a speedy-mushroom.

"I hate you," grumbled James, glaring at Zelda out of the corner of his eye.

"Ha! No you don't."

"Usually I don't, but you can be damn sure that I do now!"

Zelda only laughed and chased him madly around the board, seeing as she now had a mega-mushroom and was trying to squish him with it.

When she succeeded, James almost threw his controller in the air. "Why are you targeting **_me?!_**"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE FREAKING LUIGI, THAT'S WHY!" Zelda then smacked Daisy with a red-shell.

James, however, got the last laugh. Right as the clock counted down to zero, he launched a green shell with impeccable aim, and the projectile hit Zelda's character, Dry Bones, straight in the face.

"Oh, you little turd!" exclaimed Zelda with a groan.

"HA!" shouted James, throwing his arms up in the air. "I GOT YOU AND THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS!"

Despite the fact that Zelda's team still won—and that very match had been the winning one—she shot him a death glare. Upon seeing the triumphant air upon his face, however, she couldn't keep back the laughter that was bubbling in her throat.

Before long, they were both laughing at their ridiculousness.

"I told you, you messed up, A-Aron," smirked Zelda when she finally regained control of herself.

"Will you quit calling me that? Just call me James."

This made her smile. "Well, all right, then, James." But then she smirked. "Although, since you're ninety-six, does this mean I get to call you Old-Man James?"

"Oh, shut up."

"How about Grandpoppy J?"

James exclaimed in mock outrage and pushed Zelda to the side, although she didn't really care because she was laughing so hard. But something seemed weird about the gesture—when she stopped laughing, she realized it actually kind of hurt.

"Ow," she said mildly, observing her arm. She was shocked to realize that he had left a mark on her arm. Irritated, she asked, "What was that?"

But instead of answering, he wore this horrified expression on his face.

Noticing it, Zelda asked cautiously as if he were a live bomb, "James? What is it?"

"I—I just—" He stopped and put his head in his hands.

Zelda swallowed. There was obviously something he wasn't telling her.

After a moment, he retreated from his hands and murmured, "You probably haven't noticed, because I've worn jackets and dark gloves all the time, even now. But I did it so you wouldn't… well."

Without any further explanation, James shrugged off his black jacket and took off his left glove—Zelda's eyes widened slightly upon seeing that instead of a real arm, there was a cybernetic one.

"HYDRA had given this to me, seeing as I lost my arm sometime during the war. I didn't show you because…"

"You thought I would be repulsed or something?" asked Zelda, raising an eyebrow. Seeing that he nodded, she scoffed. "James, if anything, this proves to me that you are strong. You don't know how this happened, you don't know why, but you've accepted it and can deal with it. If that isn't strength of character, I don't know what is."

There was a silence in which James just stared at her; but after a moment, he smiled again. He glanced at his arm, then shrugged. "I hadn't really thought about it much until recently. I'd been afraid that I'd do something and hurt you, and now…"

"You haven't hurt me," Zelda said quickly. "I was just caught by surprise, was all. Don't worry about it, James, that will do no one any good."

James's smile grew slightly larger. He happened to glance at the screen that declared Zelda and her team as the winner—he pointed towards it and said, "Next time, you're mine, A-Aron."

Zelda burst into laughter, which promptly led her to fall off the couch. James stared at her bemusedly as she tried to regain control of herself, but she just couldn't: whether it was because his victory was hopeless or he had just said "A-Aron," she didn't know, but she always felt lighthearted whenever he was around or said something modern that just didn't quite fit with him yet.

When at last she was quiet—more or less, anyway—James sighed and grabbed her hand before yanking her to her feet. He forgot about his super strength for the moment, however, and she practically flew off the ground and barreled straight into him.

"Uhhooops!" cried Zelda, embarrassedly backing away. "Sorry!"

"No, it's… fine," chuckled James, though his eyes were on the floor. After a brief silence, he cleared his throat and said, "I should probably get going."

The smile on her face faded slightly. "Where are you going?"

"Probably back to headquarters."

"Well, if you want to spare yourself the walk, I have a couch you can use, if that's all right with you…"

James studied her for a moment, but then shook his head thoughtfully. "No thanks, Zelda, although I appreciate the offer. The last season of Star Trek awaits."

Though he smiled again, there was something underneath it that Zelda couldn't quite identify. She knew better than to pester him about it, however; so she only replied, "Okay. Well, if you're ever in the neighborhood…"

"I'll stop by," he said. The way he said it made it sound like a promise.

Zelda grinned again. "All right, then. Glad that's settled." Then, before she could either lose her nerve or tell herself it was a bad idea, she kissed him on the cheek. "Now get going. Star Trek is indeed awaiting."

He glanced at her with a specific gleam in his eye that made her wonder exactly what he was thinking. But he said nothing to offer a hint of his thoughts; he only smiled and walked out the door, carefully closing it behind him.

Once he was gone, Zelda exhaled deeply and stared at the television. Her victory was still displayed on the screen—finally allowing her ludicrously large smile to form, she turned off the console and the television before heading off to bed.

* * *

Thanks for waiting for this update, guys! I appreciate it, since I've been so busy and whatnot lately! You can hopefully expect the next chapter on Sunday evening. I'm hoping to get a little ahead when I'm finally free this weekend... I've got some stuff planned...

Please review and let me know what you think! :)


	10. Chapter 8

The weekend was once again, excruciatingly long.

Each moment of her Saturday and Sunday, Zelda was wondering if James would stop by. She figured that she was going crazy, seeing as she couldn't go five minutes without thinking of the damn guy. She even went to Schwarma on Sunday evening with the faint hope that he would be there.

Although he wasn't there, Robbie was—and he immediately proceeded to grill her on what happened after he left on Friday evening.

Once her tale was told, her friend looked somewhat satisfied. But then he asked, "Please tell me you kissed or something."

Zelda mumbled something about a friendly kiss on the cheek.

Robbie slammed a hand down on the counter. "**_Damn it, _**Zelda! I've been trying to set you two up since the moment I saw the guy! You could've done better than **_that!_**"

"Robbie!" exclaimed Zelda, somewhat scandalized. She could feel her face turning a brilliant magenta, so she hid her face with her hands.

"Well?! Don't tell me you two wouldn't be cute. He has the most **_gorgeous _**blue eyes—I'm sure you've noticed by now."

Zelda mumbled something else about yes he had nice eyes.

"There you go, then!" exclaimed Robbie as if this confession alone was enough to rest his case.

She just rolled her eyes and let him rant about how **_perfect _**they were for each other, yada-yada-yada.

In fact, Robbie kept up with this the entire week that followed. Whether it was visiting her apartment on Monday night and snacking on all the food in Zelda's pantry while ranting to her about "gorgeous eyes," as Robbie called James; or on Tuesday when James and Zelda just went for a **_friendly _**dinner-out at Schwarma, Robbie was insistently trying to set them up. On Thursday, he even followed Zelda all the way to HYDRA headquarters, pestering her about how James needed to get out more or "he'll just become a crazy recluse like you, so take him to the club! Plus, it'll be good for **_you. You _**need to get out more."

Needless to say, Zelda just scoffed, rolled her eyes, and replied, "It's not **_like _**that, Robbie! Okay?!"

Robbie just muttered something that suspiciously sounded like, "Yeah, not like that my ass. Give it a week! You'll eventually stop being stupid and figure it out…"

Over the weekend, Zelda had her hands full while juggling Robbie's yenta-like blabbering and James challenging her at Mario Kart. Despite the fact that James **_actually _**beat her at a versus match—with Luigi no less, how humiliating, dishonor on her cow—she hadn't had so much fun in ages.

She also suspected that her Russian curse vocabulary was expanding, although Zelda thought that was the opposite of a problem.

That Saturday, Zelda figured it was time to introduce him to Super Smash Bros. Brawl—it was there that James first figured out there was a video game character named Zelda, too.

"Were you named after her or something?" he asked.

Zelda just laughed. "No, I wasn't. I don't know why I was named Zelda. I guess that's just what my parents liked."

James grinned. "You know, that's the first I've heard of your family. What are they like?"

At this, however, Zelda's small smile started to fade. "Well… I, uh… don't remember, quite honestly. I know they live in Virginia now, since they moved after I got my job here. I haven't seen them in a long time… too busy," she lied before James could ask.

In reality, they were in Virginia because HYDRA didn't want them anywhere close to their daughter for fear that she would attempt to save them, thus relinquishing HYDRA's control over her.

He heard her tone of voice and knew that her parents were a sensitive subject. Still, he prompted, "Do you have any siblings?"

"No," was the answer. "Although I **_do _**have a cousin. I used to be extremely close to her until we both got our jobs. She had to move away after a while too…"

"What's her name?"

"Ellis Anne," replied Zelda, smirking somewhat. "Her parents seemed to favor the weirder names as well, it would seem. She writes books too, so she's as much of a nerd as I am."

"It must run in the family," chuckled James. He then thought for a moment before adding, "If it means anything, though… I think Zelda is a prettier name."

Zelda looked at him for a moment before smiling and redirecting her attention to her character selection on Smash Bros.—she picked Ike, since he was super powerful. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Well, thank you, James. You know, you're the first person who hasn't made fun of me for my name."

He looked positively baffled. "Why would they do that?!"

"Because of the video game," laughed Zelda. "But that's all right… I've gotten used to it by now."

James muttered something in Russian that Zelda thought belonged in the category of curse words.

Afterwards, Zelda pleaded to resume the game, since now her thoughts were on her family, and the endless possibilities about what could've happened to them were making her sick.

James, seeing the expression on her face, grabbed her hand and smiled encouragingly before unpausing the game and resuming their death-match.

Zelda felt a little better, a little warmer, after seeing his smile.

At last, it was again Monday morning, the third Monday morning that Zelda would spend training with James. She was actually early to training that day. She got in the training room at 7:50AM instead of the usual 8AM and went to work on semi-automatics.

As she practiced, Zelda couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself. She recalled that she asked James to teach her how to shoot a gun, but in reality, she'd already known. At least, she'd already known how to shoot pistols and stuff—she'd received a lesson or two from Rory about how to shoot shotguns, but SHIELD only made her master pistols. While she truthfully didn't know how to operate rifles or machine guns or anything of the sort, she had lied a little by declaring she had no clue how to operate a gun.

She still wasn't sure why she had lied. Maybe because she just wanted to have **_him _**teach **_her _**something, just as a change.

At any rate, she was kinda glad she did it.

That was what Zelda was thinking about for fifteen minutes; but finally, the door opened behind her. She smiled, but didn't turn around. Footsteps echoed across the floor—half of her wanted to turn around and mockingly scold James for being late, but when she turned, she froze.

It was Pierce.

"Oh! Good morning, sir," she greeted hesitantly.

"Morning, Bellefleur," he returned. "Mind if I borrow you for a moment or so? I wish to have that discussion about your new position."

The tone in Pierce's voice worried Zelda. Did he finally piece it together?

Somehow, she kept her face straight as she replied, "Of course, sir."

He waved his hand in a clear gesture of, _Follow me. _Nervously, Zelda followed him—he exited the training room and set off down that very confusing path of twists and turns that led to the room in which she had had dinner with him the night she was promoted.

Once there, Pierce gazed at her with slight disapproval. "I must say, when I appointed you to Project Red, I didn't expect either you or Soldier to adapt so easily."

Zelda wasn't quite sure what to say. So she only blinked.

"In a matter of three weeks, it appears you two have become great friends. Of course, I can base this assumption off the fact that you've introduced him to a great many relatively modern things—including Mario Kart, as I understand it."

With this, Zelda looked down at the ground. Was he just here to gloat about how he was keeping an eye on her?

But that was when she realized—

"And you calling him James certainly proves to me that you have quite a friendship."

She blinked again and said nothing. At least, she was silent until he asked, "What have you to say to that?"

Zelda wasted no time in replying. "I told him because he deserved to know. It's the one thing I thought would be appropriate to tell him about his past—it is not something that will lead him to more questions, but it is something that he has more than worked his way to know. And I wanted to… to treat him normally. To treat him like a person I might've met on the street instead of this obligation known as work. He deserves to feel **_normal, _**sir, he's a **_person, _**and a good one at that! I couldn't sit back and do nothing when I held the truth in my hands."

Pierce clasped his hands behind his back and listened to Zelda's spiel. When she glanced up at him cautiously, yet with some defiance, he smirked a little. "You seem very passionate about this."

"Perhaps because we are both in the same boat, James and I," retorted Zelda, no longer in the mood for treating this man with respect. "We were both forced here. We are both stuck. We have no options. And we needed someone to help us. Or at least, I did. That is why we have become friends. Because **_I _**needed help—and it was good fortune that he did, too."

"And somehow, despite the trials and training, he is still amicable towards you?"

This comment made Zelda wary. She knew that with this response, she would have to tread lightly. With careful consideration, she said, "Somehow, he is indeed. You see, sir, when we first began, I had to assure him that I would take no pleasure out of the trials; and that if I could, I would rather not test him at all. But the duties are what they are, and though it took a couple days for him to see past that, I suppose I persisted in attempting to be friends long enough for him to accept it."

Pierce nodded slowly, though all he said was, "I see."

It was again silent for a while… but again, Pierce broke it.

"Well, Miss Bellefleur, I'm afraid I must advise against you forming any serious form of attachment to Soldier. I have already set him on his mission; he is at it right now. The next time he goes out, you shall be with him. But this part he had to do alone. And once that mission is complete, he will be again preserved, to be awoken at HYDRA's need."

Zelda froze. Did she hear what she thought she did?

James would be frozen again?

She blinked and threw her hands behind her back to keep her tightly balled fists hidden. There was nothing she could say that would make any difference, she knew, but all the same Zelda just wanted to scream at Pierce—she wanted to scream and shout about what a malicious bastard he was, James deserved so much better, and oh God what would she do when he was gone?

It was that moment when she finally and fully realized that he had brought her happiness. Since she'd been promoted, Zelda had been happier in the past two weeks alone than she had been the past two **_years._**

Realizing this, there was nothing she could do to swallow the small gasp in her throat. So it escaped—Pierce raised an eyebrow at the sound, but Zelda didn't stick around to hear what he thought about it.

Instead, she whirled on her heels and sprinted out of the room.

Alexander Pierce be damned, she was going to get James out of HYDRA.

Within another minute, Zelda slammed back into the training room. This time, James was there, plopping a handgun on the table with a tired sigh. He heard the door slam open and whirled around to see her standing, her face and eyes red, her fists clenched, and her mouth open.

"Zelda?" he asked softly, moving toward her. She noticed blankly that today he was dressed in combat gear—some sort of light armor, black, and a mask that covered his mouth and nose. He removed it immediately, however, and threw it on the ground without a second glance. Upon seeing her face up closer, James put a hand on her arm. His blue eyes were darting worriedly across her face. "What happened?"

That was it. She couldn't—she burst into tears.

"Zelda!"

"They're—I—I can't—" she gasped, unable to string two words together. She couldn't lose him now. Not now. So she just kept sobbing, not quite sure what else to do or if she could even stop.

James was obviously at a loss of what to do as well. He stood blankly in front of her for a moment before deciding to hold her close, to make her feel less alone, hoping it would help.

She felt his arms wrap around her back, pulling her towards him, and it made Zelda both want to stop crying and cry even more. She didn't know which one would happen, either; all she knew was that soon, someday soon, James's mission would be completed and he would be iced again and there would be nothing she could do about it if she couldn't get him away from HYDRA's grasp.

But even if she **_did _**help James escape, she wouldn't be able to go with him, or her parents were dead.

Her **_cousin _**might even be dead, now that it had been proven that Pierce had been listening to all their conversations while in her apartment. Whatever she had said, he would know and use to his advantage.

It took a few minutes, but at last Zelda managed to cease her tears. James didn't let her go, however, until he heard her breathe deeply and say, "Thank you… I just… I'm okay now."

With this, he led her towards a chair at the table outside the training room. She stared at the table blankly, her face blotchy and red. Before he could ask, she said with another deep breath, "I need to get you out of here."

James was shocked. "What?"

"They're—they're going to freeze you again as soon as your mission's over. I can't… I can't let that happen. Not now. You need to go somewhere they cannot find you."

He gazed at her gently and placed his right hand over hers. "Zelda, I can't do that. They'll find me… and I won't leave you here to suffer for my actions."

"I'll suffer more if you **_don't _**go!" exclaimed Zelda. "Please—I can't just stay here knowing you'll be gone soon. Whether it's next week, next month, next year, I won't be ready for it. I'll **_never _**be ready for it. I'd rather take a risk than lay down belly-up and accept their plan."

James chuckled sadly. "What are you planning, Zelda? How would it work? How could I escape their eyes, which are literally everywhere around the city? I won't let them hurt you."

Zelda frowned now, her irritation proving to be good for keeping back more tears. "How could they? What else could they do to me? My family is probably dead. They might've already killed them. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been dead for two years. But I can't take the chance and go too. You need to go alone."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving you."

"**_Why?!_**" exclaimed Zelda. "You'll be promised nothing if you stay! I won't live forever, James! I can't help you forever. I will die someday! I will not be your supervisor for as long as you are within HYDRA's clutches! You should take the chance and go."

"No. I'm not going to leave you here. I care about you too much."

This made her stop short. "What?" she asked hopelessly.

James shrugged, though the look on his face was melancholy. "I care about you too much, Zelda. I won't let them hurt you. You've done more for me than anyone else ever has. And I won't repay you, the woman I love, by endangering you like that."

She stared at him. Pierce's words rang through her head—_I'm afraid I must advise against you forming any serious form of attachment to Soldier._

His warning was too late.

She already had an attachment to James. She loved him.

"Damn it, James," she whispered, putting her head in her hands. "And here I was thinking I could use the argument that I love you to get you to escape." But when she looked up, she tried to put on the best smile she could while her eyes were still watery and her face was still red and great she probably looked terrible.

Now that she thought about it, it was glaringly obvious. She couldn't go five minutes without thinking about James—and she was happiest whenever he was nearby. He had fixed her, someone broken and with nothing to live for, the way she had hoped to fix him.

A raw laugh tore through her throat upon realizing Robbie had been onto something the past couple weeks.

"What is it?" asked James, moving to sit next to her.

"Robbie," she groaned. Instantly, he snickered. "Oh, he's going to have a field day when I tell him—"

"Well, he's known that I love you for a week now, so I doubt he'll be terribly surprised."

Zelda stared at him and was about to exclaim something—she didn't even know what—but he kissed her before she could, effectively stopping her words. She blinked once or twice before actually deciphering what was happening; when she did, she closed her eyes and placed her arms around his neck, drawing him closer, hoping that if he were close enough, he could never be taken away.

Pierce's words were simply lost. She felt like she could be with James forever; she certainly **_wished _**she could be with him forever. She didn't want to forget what it was like, him kissing her—she felt warm, and safe, and loved, something she hadn't felt in what felt like an eternity. He kissed her lips, her cheek, her forehead, and his hand lightly brushed her neck, sending what felt like sparks of electricity shooting throughout her body, all the way to her fingertips.

She gasped a little when he bit her lip—she had never been kissed by anyone as if they truly meant it before. She wished she knew what she was doing. She'd been reacting on instinct before then. Knowing, however, that she was still rather shocked it was happening, she simply moved his hair behind his ear and placed her forehead against his.

"Pierce told me not to form any attachments with you," she blurted out. But then she smirked. "It's a good thing I don't tend to listen to anyone. I think this is my royal declaration to him of 'screw you.'"

He laughed softly. "He said the same to me," he admitted. "So I believe this is my also my declaration to him saying 'пошел ты.'"

"You know I don't speak alien," grinned Zelda.

"You don't have to. I said the same thing as you—except a bit ruder."

With that, she laughed and placed her head on his shoulder. Despite what Pierce had said, despite knowing they might only have a limited time left, Zelda took comfort from the moment.

Somehow, they ended up in the lounge. Zelda didn't remember walking there, or even if they had a conversation on the way there. The last thing she remembered of that afternoon was James putting on the last episode of Star Trek and whispering in her ear as she lay down on the couch, "I love you, Zelda. I didn't remember what love was, how it was felt—but I'll be damned if this isn't what it was."

* * *

I think I'll just leave this here... ;) Because this is the last week of school (thank gosh), I'll be super busy with finals. On Friday evening, expect another update!

Please leave comments and reviews so I know what y'all are thinking!


	11. Chapter 9

The same day Zelda finally realized she loved James, she told Robbie that she did—and, as she suspected, he had a field day. "Oh, thank **_God _**you finally figured it out, I was getting impatient, I was trying to help poor James the entire time but I couldn't make it too obvious, oh, Zelda, have you caused me grief but you know what at this point I don't even **_care, ugh, _**if you two ever have children they better have his eyes but your hair—"

Needless to say, Zelda let him rant himself clean before telling him that for now, they were just going to enjoy each other's company. She said, with a great smile on her face, that she was going to make Italian food at her apartment and then introduce James to Star Wars.

"At last," sighed Robbie. He also nodded in approval at her dinner choice. "Please tell me you're making your alfredo noodles. Those are to **_die _**for. Also, if you happen to make garlic biscuits and if you have any left, I will eat them all."

Zelda laughed and told him that he would be allowed to stop by **_if _**he promised not to gush over them when he did. "You promise?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded quickly. "Cross my heart, dear."

That Friday night, after escaping Grant thanks to James's intervention again, they both returned to Zelda's apartment, and she played some All-American Rejects out of her "music box," as James continued to call her phone, as she made food. He even offered to help her, although Zelda was quick to put a stop to that.

"Nonsense," she had said while mixing the batter for chocolate torte. "I want you to stay right there and listen to this song. And no, you can't lick the spoon," she laughed as he opened his mouth to ask something. "I'm not done mixing yet. You can have it after."

"Я люблю тебя," said James with a sideways smirk.

Zelda raised an eyebrow, not even bothering to apprehend him for speaking Russian again. She just waited for him to explain what he meant.

Soldier grinned. "Perhaps I can teach you Russian sometime."

Zelda was thrilled at the prospect, but she contained her excitement for the sake of a bargaining chip. "I will accept if you tell me what you just said."

"I love you."

"And I love you too—but what did you say?"

James snickered. "That **_was _**what I said."

Zelda felt her face turn pink. "Oh," she mumbled, although a silly grin overcame her upon hearing his laughter. "Well, that makes a lot more sense. Now what prompted you to say as much?"

"You're letting me lick the spoon when you're done."

If she had been laughing before, this response almost made tears fall out of her eyes.

Later, apparently Soldier had vastly enjoyed Star Wars: A New Hope. He wanted to watch the next one, but Zelda only wagged a finger in his direction and declared that all good things come to those who wait.

He pouted somewhat. "And I told you I loved you. Phah."

She just giggled.

Some time passed afterward. Within another few days, it was exactly one month since they'd met each other. Zelda could hardly fathom it—it felt like just yesterday, and yet so long ago.

It was that day, while James was helping Zelda wield a fully automatic rifle and praising her in slow Russian at the same time, that Pierce ambled into the training room. Without so much as a good morning, he announced, "If you two will both come here, please."

Zelda and James exchanged worried looks. Would this be the day that he finally separated them? It seemed that every time he called one of them—much less both of them—over, they were concerned on if they would be parted. Especially now.

"Soldier, your mission continues today," said Pierce once they were both aligned in front of him. "Bellefleur, you shall be his eyes from around the block, in a safe position. You shall give Soldier advice and instruction as he apprehends three people by name of Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, and Steve Rogers."

This last name made a lump from in Zelda's throat.

James's best friend, Steve Rogers, from before… Pierce was going to make him kill his own best friend.

Pierce noticed the slight change in her expression, and his gray eyes became hard in clear warning. "Bellefleur, you are to stay **_exactly _**where you are positioned until the mission is over. You are only to instruct him on where the targets go, or what their plans are. Is that understood?"

As usual, the familiar glare was in Pierce's eye, letting Zelda know that her family's life hung in the balance.

But who was to say they were not already dead?

Maybe they'd already been killed and Pierce just hadn't told her.

Pierce seemed to notice this question in Zelda's eyes; with a slow blink, he turned to Soldier. "Soldier, capture as many as you can. Do not kill them—not yet. They may have information we need. I know for a fact that one does…"

The way he spoke made Zelda certain that it was Captain America who needed to be captured the most.

As if he read her thoughts and heard her internal snicker, Pierce whirled back to Zelda. "Bellefleur, follow me outside the glass door. Stay where you are, Soldier," he ordered as James opened his mouth.

Left with no other choice, Zelda obeyed—and James remained.

Outside the door, Pierce turned away from James so that he was free to glare at her and say what he needed without having his lips read. "Now, Bellefleur, I know that look in your eyes. I've seen it a lot, quite recently; that questioning look, as if you don't believe I can hold sway over your decisions. But believe me—" He held out a small iPad mini and showed her what was on it. "If you were to disobey me at all, that would be a poor decision."

Zelda glowered at Pierce but looked at the tablet. What she saw made her expression falter.

It was a live-action video of her parents, walking around their household. It appeared they were completely oblivious to the threat that was watching them at all times—Zelda recognized her mother washing dishes in the kitchen, listening to classical music. On the other side of the iPad was her father, working on his computer in the upstairs office.

She swallowed. Unless Pierce was tricking her, they were still alive…

"So you see, Bellefleur, why you should still have incentive to do what I tell you."

Pierce's words brought Zelda back to the present. She had been thinking about her parents, if they were happy, if they thought about her at all, if they were able to live normally despite the eyes watching their every move.

With a resigned fury, she sighed and put a hand to her head. "Apparently so, sir," was all she said, though she wished she could say so much more.

Her boss smirked. "I'm glad we understand one another," he replied, nodding curtly. "So while we're at it—you shall say **_nothing _**to Soldier about Steve Rogers. You might tell him his name and ignore my warnings, even if they were for your long-term benefit, but this order you will **_not _**disobey, or there will be hell to pay. Is that understood as well?"

"Clearly," mumbled Zelda, glancing down at the ground.

He nodded again. "Excellent. Now remain in the training room until you are sent for."

Zelda immediately brushed past Pierce and reentered the training room, her face ashen. If she had dared to hope that she and James might be able to run away from HYDRA, given a window of opportunity, those hopes were squashed.

Just as James would not repay Zelda by endangering her, so she would not endanger her parents. Other than James and her cousin Ellis, they were all she had.

As she approached, James frowned. He noticed the burdened expression on her face and said, "He threatened you again, didn't he?"

Blankly, she sighed and said, avoiding the question, "Suit up, James. We'll be escorted out soon."

Despite her aversion to his comment, he only nodded and placed a hand on her arm. Then, after a kiss upon her forehead, he walked to the room in which his mask and what Zelda could only call armor were located.

Once he was gone, she sat down and put a hand to her head. What was she to do? She couldn't win against Pierce, against HYDRA… whether it was James's freedom, or her family's safety, or even her own happiness, she was unable to fight for it, to stand against them. She was just a pawn of HYDRA's, and she would never be anything more.

The depressing thought ate away at Zelda for the couple minutes it took for James to return. When he did, he knelt down beside her, his blue eyes gazing worriedly at her face. Quietly, he said, "It will get better."

"If you say so," she replied, melancholy—but instantly, she forced a small smile. "Now, how about we go downtown? There are three people we need to capture."

James raised an eyebrow, but Zelda could see he was trying to restrain a smirk. He put on his mask—his nose and mouth were covered, so she could only see the top half of his face. Luckily, that included his blue eyes; but still, she frowned. Seeing her expression he asked, "What? Is it on wrong?"

"No," answered she thoughtfully. "I just don't like the mask, because I can't kiss you when you wear it."

That made him chuckle; James pulled out a pair of heavy-duty goggles and sighed as he looked at them. He muttered something in Russian that Zelda was certain would not be used in normal conversation.

Once he put those on, she grumbled, "Obviously Pierce is assigning you this horrid head wear to bother me. Now I can't see your eyes."

James only shook his head, and though Zelda couldn't see the expression on his face, she was sure he was rolling his eyes.

For another few minutes, they continued training. But much too soon for Zelda's taste, a guard came by and ordered them to follow him. Left with no other choice, they did so.

Once outside, both Zelda and James were escorted into a large, black van. Without so much as a warning, the van jolted forward, practically throwing Zelda across the back since she hadn't had time to sit down.

James gave the driver an evil glare, but the driver only chuckled and said, "Sorry, darling Bellefleur."

Stiffening, Zelda realized it was Grant.

"You did that on purpose," she declared, crossing her arms before sitting next to James, who was still staring daggers at the back of Grant's head.

Grant, however, just snickered again and said nothing.

For the next fifteen tense minutes, the van continued in a cycle of moving to stopping for traffic. At last, when Zelda thought she was going to lose her mind due to all this waiting around doing nothing, they arrived at the destination where their targets would be intercepted.

Swiftly, they were ushered out. In another van just behind theirs, Pierce exited and tromped over to them.

Pierce pointed to a building on their left and said, "That is where you will be stationed, Bellefleur. It is a checkpoint of ours—you will be located in a room just off the lobby, all your cameras displayed on screens for you. You shall also need _this,_" he added, taking her hand and plopping a pair of high-quality headphones into her palm, "to keep in contact with Soldier."

Zelda stared at the device and nodded, careful not to look him in the eye.

"And remember what your purpose here is," added Pierce. His comment made her grit her teeth, but still, all she did was nod. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response.

"Now, Soldier—you shall follow me," said the leader of HYDRA, and without another word he stalked off, expecting James to do the same.

James only nodded slightly to Zelda before being forced to trail after Pierce.

Left with nothing else to do, Zelda sighed and put the headphones on properly before storming over to the building where she was expected to do her observing.

Upon arriving, she saw that it was nothing fancy. It was a lounge area with faded blue couches and a black leather chair, surrounded by monitors that were surveilling the many streets around the nearest blocks. With an experimental click, one of the monitors' pictures changed so that she could see the other side of that street.

Intrigued, she tried a few more options. Each one changed her outlook on the scene—although most of the screens in front of her were of normal people going about their ordinary lives, Zelda's heart almost stopped when she clicked the next one.

She just so happened to locate the camera that was on James.

And he had just yanked a steering wheel straight out of a car.

With a small shudder, Zelda continued watching. She was amazed by his physical strength and endurance… he leapt off the car and soon exploded it with only a hand-held grenade, and he landed perfectly, much less without any injuries.

Three people then shot out of the car upon a large piece of metal. Zooming in, Zelda could see that there were two men and a woman. One man was dark-skinned, and he darted off one direction while the blond man tried to protect the woman with what Zelda realized was a shield.

But it wasn't any shield—it was Captain America's shield.

The woman, who must've been Natasha Romanoff, soon fled to another direction, saying something into a speaker. She might've been asking for backup—realizing this, James hurriedly chased after her, a gun in his hand, but Steve Rogers, or Captain America, was aiming the shield at his back.

"James, jump!" cried Zelda.

He did, and the shield that Rogers threw at his legs went underneath him.

"Thanks," said James's voice over the speaker. "Where'd the girl go?"

"One moment." She quickly perused all the cameras that were available to her. "On your left!"

James wasted no time in pursuing Romanoff again. He was fast—faster than Zelda could've imagined. As she observed what was happening, she found it very strange that this was what HYDRA had James doing for years upon years… The concept was foreign, even if it was true.

For a while, it was a wild goose chase. The men who were aiding James were shooting at Captain America while he attempted to gun down Romanoff—when she jumped over the edge of the bridge, James tried to wait for her from above.

Zelda peered closely at the camera, an alarm in her head. When she squinted at the screen, she realized why that was so.

"GET BACK!" exclaimed Zelda; she watched with horror as James only barely managed to avoid one of Romanoff's bullets. As it was, she managed to hit his goggles, and it was then that Zelda realized how thankful she actually was that Pierce assigned him said horrid headwear.

James took off his goggles and narrowed his eyes before swiftly chasing Romanoff again.

The next few minutes were almost too fast for Zelda to follow properly. The two assassins were darting to and fro, and it was all she could do to keep the cameras locked on them, much less advise James on where the other two were. In fact, as she sat, feeling useless, she began to grumble to herself about how stupid Pierce was making her sit and do nothing…

A loud explosion in her headphones caught her attention—apparently James had just detonated a bomb.

"Behind you!" warned Zelda, seeing the screen. But too late; Romanoff was too quick. She launched onto James's back and tried to harness him, but he just shook her off like a leaf.

Realizing her peril, Romanoff began to run: James stopped her by shooting her in the arm.

He raised his pistol for the second shot, but Zelda gasped, "No, wait! If you harm them, there will be no information to gather."

James lowered the gun. "Almost forgot about that. Thanks, Zelda… how are you holding up?"

Zelda sighed heavily, which made him chuckle. "That answers my question."

"I want to help you," she declared petulantly.

"Then come out here. Since when do we listen to what Pierce says?"

_Since he showed me the video of my family, _thought Zelda to herself, but even so, she knew that if she remained in the stupid lounge for another minute she might just explode. So instead, she answered, "Good point," and emerged from the building, although she kept her headset on just in case.

"Where are you right now?" asked Zelda, withdrawing the Glock from her belt, suspiciously glancing around each corner.

"No idea. I still don't know my way around this city."

Another explosion sounded, and this time, it wasn't from the headset.

"Found you," she replied mildly. "It wasn't so hard. You keep blowing shit up, James."

"That's not our concern, is it?"

"Perhaps not, but do try to avoid any more collateral damage, seeing as you might have some very angry police officers showing up if you persist."

He grumbled something in Russian that she couldn't quite identify, but Zelda only rolled her eyes and moved off to find him and guard his back.

When she arrived, however, it appeared she was a little late. James and Captain America were in an intense fistfight—seeing her, Rogers's eyes widened.

"Get out of the way!" he exclaimed.

Zelda smirked. "Sorry, Cap. I'm not going anywhere." And she intentionally shot just to the left of his head.

Rogers stared at her in horrified astonishment as she added, "Now please, I really do not want to hurt you, so if you get down now, that'd be great."

James shook his head. "No, Zelda, you know what our orders were. I don't want you in trouble for disobeying them." And he darted forward to Rogers again—

But the Captain just pushed him back, and when he did, he accidentally removed James's mask.

The change on Steve Rogers's face was instantaneous. He looked shocked, pained, and remorseful all at once—"Bucky?"

James frowned. "Who the hell is Bucky?"

Rogers never got a chance to answer. At that moment, HYDRA cars surrounded him, bringing Romanoff and Wilson in tow. Zelda noticed Rogers was staring, wide-eyed, at the ground… Apparently, Captain America still remembered that James—or Bucky, as he had been called before—had been his best friend.

But she held no care for that. Zelda walked up to James and murmured, "Are you all right?"

He nodded. "I'm fine. Are you?"

She nodded too and offered him a weak smile. "Wish I could've gotten here earlier…"

"Don't worry about it. We succeeded."

Zelda glanced at Rogers, who had obviously heard their exchange. She felt incredibly guilty for not helping him, as he was an enemy of HYDRA's. "I guess so," she answered, breaking eye contact with Captain America.

She hoped he didn't remember that he saved her life once.

This was beyond a poor way to repay him.

Grant ambled up to Zelda then. "Ah, dear Zelda, our boss would like a word with you." Seeing the shade of white she turned, he smirked mockingly and added, "You aren't in trouble, if that's any consolation."

With that, he lightly stroked her arm, which made James clench his teeth and mutter, "Slimy bastard," after he walked off.

Was it Zelda, or did the lightest chuckle come out of Steve Rogers's mouth?

All the same, she only sighed and said, "It's all right, James… I'll go talk to said boss, and then we can go home for the day… You've got a world-class beating in Mario Kart coming your way."

"Need I remind you that I beat you yesterday? With Luigi?"

"I**_ don't _**want to hear it. You only beat me one time!" exclaimed Zelda.

This, of course, made him laugh, "But it was one time I'll never let you forget!" as she walked off. Despite the severity of the situation, his childishness made her smile even as she walked to Pierce.

* * *

I'm very glad I managed to post a chapter in the middle of the week! I'm hoping to finish this by the end of May, if I can. It might take a little longer than that... Expect the next chapter up sometime this weekend! Thanks for reading, guys, I really appreciate it! You're the best!

Don't forget to leave questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, etc.! :)


	12. James

For some reason, Rogers seemed amused by the conversation he and Zelda had. That confused him—it wasn't any of this guy's business.

Even so, this was the least of James's concerns. He wasn't sure what Pierce wanted with Zelda, and he wasn't sure he was entirely eager to find out…

When she came back, her face was a little gray, as if she were about to be sick. But when he asked her what happened, she only shook her head and replied, "It's all right, James… It's fine." And she would not elaborate.

Thoroughly disgruntled, he waited for the fifteen minute ride back to headquarters, hoping each minute that she would explain herself. It was only when they were in the training room again that she did: "I'm sorry, James, but I need a sample of your blood. Pierce wants to conduct another test, a different one, he said that your missions have never been successful like this before and that he wants to see if anything has… changed."

So that explained why he was sitting in the room where the trials used to take place while Zelda attempted to jab a needle into his arm.

Her face was still rather green as she tried to find a good vein. At last, with a disgruntled moan, she exclaimed, "This is impossible. I'm not a doctor! Is it all right if I try your other arm?"

Seizing the opportunity, James smirked. "Sure, if you can find it in a ravine in Europe somewhere."

Zelda started. It was clear she had forgotten all about his cybernetic arm—a good sign, James supposed. It was much better that she forget about his replacement limb than always be worried he would hurt her with it.

As it was, it was rather strange when she only managed a contorted smile. Her face turned from green to white in a matter of two seconds, and it was here that James knew whatever Pierce had said severely bothered her.

He was so enveloped with what might've been said that he didn't even feel the needle go into his arm. It was only when the blood ran up the tube that he noticed she had finally succeeded. Still, that was no concern of his; his concern was Zelda.

"What did he say?" he persisted, half-expecting to be met with silence.

And that half was right. She was eerily quiet, her eyes downcast. She simply watched his blood flow into the weird contraption that he didn't know the name of. "Is it… when I'm being **_preserved_** again?"

"No," she answered. "Not that."

"Do you have any clue about when that is?"

"No."

Another silence, and James was starting to get irritated. One of the things he had come to love about Zelda was her openness—not this creepy silence and withdrawal. "Then what is it?" he asked.

"Nothing you should worry about."

"Are you being reassigned?" asked James, his throat tight with the thought.

"No."

Her simple answers were killing him. He needed to know so he could help her; do something about it. "Zelda, why are you not telling me? It's obviously bothering you, so let me help."

"You can't, James."

"Not if you won't let me."

"You can't help me."

James had no idea what to say to that, so he only shook his head and looked at the revolting chair he'd been electrocuted in so many times. He despised that thing and wished he could blow it up.

Minutes began to tick by, and the silence was actually becoming frightening. Numerous scenarios ran through his head… was Pierce closely watching him and Zelda now? Or was it worse; had he done something to her—physically hurt her? Abused her? Had he—wait, no—

The thought made him jolt straight up, never mind the needle in his arm. His sudden move made Zelda yelp, and she looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I can't simply sit here and not be told anything, Zelda!" exclaimed James. "I care about you too much! If you've been hurt, or threatened, or worse, I need to know about it so I can help you, so I can do something—you are all I care about! If I can't help you, **_what am I supposed to do?!"_**

The real anger and care behind his announcement made him feel a little lightheaded… if that was what lightheadedness felt like, anyway. He couldn't quite remember.

But this certainly felt like it.

And it wasn't going away.

James glanced back down at Zelda, who had tears in her eyes now. He started and tried to move towards her, but it was rather hard since he couldn't feel his own legs.

"Here," she whispered. Her voice was tormented and James hated it. "Sit down before you get hurt."

She moved up and helped him back into the chair he'd been sitting in. He tried to open his mouth and ask a question, but he couldn't even do that at this point. What the hell was going on?

"I'm so sorry," she moaned. "I'm so, so sorry. I had no choice. I had to choose—I couldn't—my family," she gasped. "Maybe someday you'll forgive me."

_What? _James wanted to ask, but then it hit him.

She'd done something to him—put something in his blood—because Pierce wanted to watch a trial.

_All you had to do was ask. I would've done it for you, _thought James angrily. His eyes were closing now and he couldn't believe she had done it this way—this way was beyond cruel. She didn't think he could handle it, that he would refuse when of course he wouldn't, not for her, but now he would because she didn't trust him. And here he was, thinking that she loved him.

Obviously she didn't.

James wished he could've said that, but at that point he was completely numb and then he fell asleep.

* * *

This physically hurt me to write. I'll have the next chapter up within the next couple days, seeing as it's now summer for me! Yay! :)

Feel free to leave your thoughts/comments/questions/concerns/protests for me!


	13. Chapter 10

It was the worst day of Zelda's life.

First, Pierce had proven that her family was still alive. Then, he'd threatened to kill them if she got in the way of James's mission to capture Steve Rogers. And her compliance hadn't been good enough for him—he'd threatened to kill her family _again _if she didn't conduct some extra tests and a trial in front of him.

And now, after watching James be electrocuted, after being forced to watch it with a blank expression as if she didn't care and talk in an expressionless voice, after giving Pierce the data and setting James free, James had just shook his head at her, said, "You only had to ask," and walked out.

And when she'd tried to follow, he said, "Go back inside, Bellefleur. I'd rather be alone."

It wasn't the request for solitude that bothered her. It was the use of her last name—the name he'd used until he trusted her.

She only lasted until the subway. As soon as she got on the stupid train, she burst into tears, which caused two women to pat her shoulder, one to give her a tissue, and a man to offer to escort her home. She thanked them all, but she didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go to Schwarma either, though—Zelda didn't know where she wanted to go. She just wanted to go far away, somewhere far enough away that her problems wouldn't be so real.

There was only one place to go if that was what she wanted, but it would be risky.

It would be **_beyond_** risky. It could be life-threatening, and not just to her.

But what other choice did she have? It was obvious that James wouldn't forgive her anytime soon, not that she was all that surprised about it. In fact, the fact that she'd half-expected his anger made it worse. She wouldn't be able to approach him anyway, even if he **_wasn't_** mad. She was too afraid to risk damaging their relationship any more than she already had…

"I have to go," she murmured, and then she knew what she had to do.

Although she didn't plan to go for long, Zelda walked into her apartment building and knocked on the door across from hers. The moment that Robbie opened the door, she declared, "I have a favor to ask."

"What's that?" asked Robbie cautiously, hearing her tone of voice and seeing the paleness of her face.

"I need you to make sure that James doesn't… well, can you just watch him for me for a little while? I'm leaving for a week."

"For what?" questioned her friend, raising an eyebrow. But seeing the look on her face, he gasped loudly and exclaimed, "Oh, no, honey, what happened?! You can't just destroy my ships like that! And when it just set sail!"

Zelda glared at him, but it was halfhearted. "It's not that simple, Robbie, and I don't have time to explain. I need to go somewhere, now."

Robbie sighed and ran a hand through his curly brown hair. "All right, I'll keep an eye on him. But where are you going?" he added as a shout, seeing as Zelda had thanked him and whirled towards her own apartment.

Hearing this question, Zelda stopped. She thought for a moment—she didn't know any of the details of her trip. She didn't know if the person she was looking for still **_lived_** at her previous address… She didn't know anything, but in all honestly, Zelda didn't even care. "I'm going to visit an old friend," she said, just loudly enough for Robbie to hear. Then she opened the door, flew into her room, and started to pack.

* * *

The next day, Zelda was in Salt Lake City, Utah. It had been a long trip on plane to the Midwest, and she was ready to find her cousin Ellis. Assuming, of course, that she hadn't moved within the past couple years.

After hailing a taxi, Zelda saw that Ellis **_had_** moved. It must have been recently, however, because there was a note on the door that stated a new address, and that Ellis Anne Clemens lived there instead. So Zelda simply returned to the cab and asked to be transported to the address she'd written down on a new piece of paper.

When at last she arrived, Zelda gaped to see the place. It was not a house: more like a mansion, it was that huge. There was a small garden in the front, and stepping stones led up to the front door.

Walking up there was intimidating, to say the least. Zelda hadn't seen Ellis in two years, since she started working for HYDRA. **_Not_** that it was by her own decision, of course, but she still worried about how Ellis would take their reunion…

Finally, Zelda rang the doorbell. For a moment, there was no sound—but then, there was, "WORRY NOT, ACCOMPLICE, I SHALL ANSWER!"

The door opened; there stood a man with dark hair, amber eyes, and no shirt. Zelda swallowed uneasily, wondering if maybe she'd gotten the address wrong again, but oh she hoped not, that would be terrible…

"And who are you?" asked the man, running a hand through his hair. "Did I send for you?"

"Uh—probably not. I'm looking for someone who I think lives here… I might have the wrong address, though… Her name is Ellis?"

The man's eyebrows raised, and he held out a finger as if to tell her to wait a minute. Then he leaned back inside the house and shouted, "WENCH! COME DOWNSTAIRS!"

An angry, female voice—but nonetheless very familiar—bellowed back, "Why?!"

"Someone here is looking for you!"

"If it's Tara, tell her that I'll be over in a few minutes to help paint the walls!"

"It's not Tara, dear accomplice, it's someone else whom I know not of!"

There was a heavy sigh, and then, "Dammit, Cliff. Right in the middle of my climax. Fine, I'm coming down!"

Zelda swallowed again. Here it came, if she knew her cousin at all, she was about to get a verbal thrashing. Maybe physical too. But that was what she signed up for. She needed Ellis now more than ever.

She watched, with a little bit of dread, as Ellis tromped down the stairs. Before long, she was in view; her hair was still dark—she hadn't dyed it after all—but it was much longer than it had been a couple years back. Her eyes still contained that knowing spark, letting Zelda know that Ellis's life had progressed rather normally. But those features morphed when Ellis saw her.

Instantly, she was confused, then shocked, and then angry. While exclaiming, "ZELDA PENELOPE BELLEFLEUR!" she bolted down the steps, ran out into the garden, yanked up some marigolds, and started beating Zelda's face with them. She was also shouting some nonsense that Zelda couldn't quite decipher because of Ellis's rapid-fire anger.

"Ack! Ellis! Hold—on!" gasped Zelda, but to no avail.

The man, Cliff, simply watched this with confusion. At last, upon noting that his housemate was beating up his guest with a handful of marigolds, he asked, "Ellis, **_what_** are you doing? **_Why?_**"

"She's mildly allergic to marigolds!" shrieked Ellis, her eyes narrowed with uncontained rage. Then she whirled on Zelda again. "What are you doing! You disappear for two years and now you just show up on my doorstep without any warning, any message?! I thought you'd **_died_**_!_"

Zelda sneezed twice, seeing as the marigold pollen was now all over her face and she could hardly breathe. Still, she somehow managed to answer, "No. But you might've been if I tried to contact you before."

Ellis groaned loudly and threw her head in her hands. "I don't **_understand!_**_"_

"I don't expect you to. I need to tell you everything—I just… I needed someone, since I—well, I—screwed up. Very badly," murmured Zelda. The memory made tears spark in her eyes, and she tried to wipe them off her face with her sleeves, but it was no use. Ellis saw anything.

With an exasperated sigh, she said, "All right… Cliff, I'm taking my cousin into the lounge."

"So this is your cousin with the awkward name?"

Zelda stared at Ellis. "You told him my name was 'awkward?'"

"As mine is, so yes. Deal with it. And by the way, I ate the Bertie Bott's jellybeans."

"What?! We were going to share them!"

"We **_were,_** until you disappeared off the face of the earth!" snapped Ellis, though she didn't seem as angry as before. At least she wasn't beating Zelda's face with marigolds now. "But I'll be nice enough to share a chocolate shake with you."

Zelda blinked. That was the drink she'd ordered at Schwarma the very first day that she'd met James, and that was the _stupidest _detail to remember, but it set her off to bawling like she had on the subway the day before.

Ellis's anger melted for a moment as she listened to her cousin's distress. After gawkily patting Zelda's back, she said, "Or maybe we should get something a little stronger."

And with that, Ellis helped bring Zelda into the lounge, where she grabbed two wine glasses and brought out a bottle of Pinot Noir. By this time, Zelda had stopped crying—so Ellis used the opportunity to announce, "All right, tell me everything."

Her wine glass in hand, Zelda proceeded to explain everything… from her job at SHIELD to how she was threatened into HYDRA, and how her parents were always in danger because of it. She talked about her most hated coworker, Grant, and how she'd been promoted to supervise James. And she didn't leave out the fact that she had never actually put James under a trial—until Pierce threatened to kill her parents again if she didn't perform one in front of him.

At this point in the story, Ellis's face had become somber. Her rage mostly disappeared—though she grumbled about, "Dangerous, pah, could've at least sent a letter"—and now she mostly felt sorry for her cousin. She'd had a hard two years, and this seemed like the last straw.

"So this… James," murmured Ellis, her eyebrows furrowing. "He doesn't trust you anymore?"

Zelda shook her head. "No… he doesn't. I don't think he loves me anymore, either…"

"Nonsense," said Ellis dismissively, waving her wine glass around. "You've always been so pessimistic. Tell me more about him. Maybe I can help."

A small smile appeared on Zelda's face. Ellis still treated her like a little sister, despite how angry she'd been before. "Well… he's…" With a start, she realized she'd forgotten to tell Ellis exactly how old James was, and how he'd been frozen for the majority of the past seventy years.

Zelda smirked a little, wondering what her cousin would say. "He's not very familiar with modern things. He's also a little older than me…"

"You and your weird attraction to older men. Ugh," groaned Ellis, crossing her arms, never mind the wine glass in her hand. "Remember back in high school when we got that new English teacher? I mean, he **_was_** hot, but you didn't have to…"

"I thought we agreed not to bring that up!"

Ellis laughed, then exclaimed, "I'm just sayin'. And let's not forget the lifeguard. Anyways, how bad is it this time? Ten years? Twelve?"

"Eh-heh… Heh…. Erm," chuckled Zelda uneasily. This would either be terrifying or hilarious. Maybe both. "**_Technically_** he's ninety-seven…"

"**_WHAT!_**" screeched Ellis, spilling her drink on the couch. She glanced at the spill and muttered, "Shit, Cliff'll be pissed." But then she returned to the other matters. "Zelda, you're **_insane_**_! _How have you not been put into an asylum yet?!"

"On the other hand, he looks twenty-seven—"

"I don't **_care_** how young he looks, he's **_ninety-seven Jesus, Zelda, what the hell have you been doing?!_**"

"Supervising a man who's literally been frozen!" shouted Zelda in retort. "If you'll just listen to me!"

Ellis groaned and flopped backward into the couch. "What do you mean, he's literally been frozen?"

"I **_mean_**_, _he's literally been frozen! For seventy years! HYDRA is an organization bent on creating world chaos! You've heard of Captain America, haven't you? And how he's been genetically enhanced by a supersoldier serum? Well, HYDRA used one too, and that's how they've preserved James for so long. They've forced James to assassinate people who might get in the way of their mission! They've used him, experimented on him, for the past seventy years, and he's been one of my only friends and now I've lost him because of Pierce's threat and that's why I'm here; because I needed to see you, to make sure you were alive, and to find someone else whom I knew actually cared about me."

Zelda finished her rant and realized that she was crying again. She hated doing that, but she couldn't help it at this point. Everything was becoming too much.

There was a moment in which Ellis was completely quiet. Afterward, she moved to Zelda and put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Zelda. But all I can give you is advice."

"I'll take it," moaned Zelda. "I don't know what to do."

"Nothing will help you if you don't take the initiative. You're going to have to talk to him yourself, don't wait for him to say anything to you. If you approach him first, then he'll see that you are the one who wants to fix things. Also, be sure to explain things properly. Don't use it as an excuse—he's probably not mad that you had to perform that trial; rather about the way you executed it. So admit your mistake and **_then_** ask for forgiveness. That's what I had to do… once."

Zelda nodded, not quite sure what else to say except, "Thanks…"

Another silence occurred, and then Ellis asked, "How long are you planning on staying?"

"Not long," replied Zelda. "If I'm gone for too long, Pierce—my boss—will do something, probably something to hurt James. I'll have to leave the day after tomorrow."

Ellis sighed, but nodded. "As angry as you made me by just showing up here, I'm glad to see you. I really **_did_** think you were dead, you know."

"I know… and I'm sorry about that. But there was no other way to keep you safe. And it was selfish of me to come, because Pierce might track me down…"

"Don't worry about it. I'd be glad to hide both you and James from them if it ever comes down to it."

Zelda smiled a little—the best thing about Ellis's promise was the sincerity with which she said it.

* * *

Three days later, Zelda had left Salt Lake City and was back in New York City. It was a Sunday, so she still had the afternoon to think of what to say to James when she went to work tomorrow.

When she returned, Robbie was waiting for her in her apartment. Upon seeing Zelda's shock, he only smirked and said, "Well, that's what you get for leaving me the spare key to your apartment, honey. At any rate, I thought you were going to be gone all week?"

She shook her head. "No, I figured I couldn't afford to be gone so long. There are some things I have to do…"

"Yes!" bellowed Robbie, slamming a hand down on the counter. "Yes, there are! Go and fix my ship!"

Zelda only shook her head hopelessly. It wasn't like she could tell Robbie everything—he was too close to HYDRA's headquarters for her to do that. So instead, she meekly agreed and said she'd try tomorrow.

"Tomorrow can't come soon enough," grumbled Robbie as he raided her refrigerator for something to eat.

And he was right—tomorrow didn't come soon enough. Zelda spent the remainder of her Sunday evening pacing, never mind the fact that a new episode of _Once Upon a Time _was airing… She could hardly concentrate on the show, she was so jittery and worried that James wouldn't believe or forgive her. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost him.

When it was morning, she speed-walked to HYDRA headquarters, wondering if James would actually be there. There was the possibility that he wouldn't go… the thought made Zelda's chest hurt, but she walked through the complex with the mindset that no matter what, she'd try and make things right.

Her fears were proven wrong—James was there, throwing knives at the target, as always. He didn't look at her when she walked inside, but Zelda heard him say, "Robbie told me you were going to be gone all week."

_Thump. _Another knife in the bulls-eye.

"Yes," replied Zelda simply, though her heart pounded. Did he **_want_** her to be gone all week?

"But you're back."

"Yes."

"Why?" he asked.

"I had to see you."

James stopped for a moment, then shook his head as if he didn't believe her. "Why did you leave?"

Zelda looked around to make sure that Pierce wasn't anywhere in the room; or anyone else for that matter. The last thing she wanted was to endanger Ellis now, if her whereabouts were unknown to HYDRA. "I needed to see my cousin."

"Ellis Anne? The one with the weird name?" questioned James as another knife embedded itself in the target.

This made her laugh a little, if only because that was what Ellis had said to Cliff about **_her_**—that she had a weird name. Still, she responded, "Yes, her. I had to make sure… nothing had happened to her."

James dropped the rest of the knives in his hand and turned to face her. He looked tired, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep at **_all_**_. _"Did you expect something to happen?" Now he sounded curious.

"Yes." The confidence with which she said the word seemed to astonish both Zelda and James. "Something **_would_** have happened to her and my parents if…" She couldn't finish. But that didn't matter—James seemed to know what she meant.

His eyes narrowed. "You only had to ask," he sighed. "You didn't trust me."

"How could I ask that of you?" mumbled Zelda. "I didn't see another way."

"Better that than worrying me about whether Grant had raped you." James picked up the three knives on the floor and threw them at the target, all at one time. Each of them somehow landed within the target area. Then he faced Zelda again; she was staring at him, her mouth slightly open. "It seems we have a lot to talk about. And this time, we won't keep secrets."

Relieved yet worried, Zelda nodded. "No… that we won't."

* * *

Now that school is over, I'm able to update every couple days! Like I stated previously, I wish to be finished by the end of May... Do not quote me on this, but I think there will be about seven to nine chapters left. Maybe less. :)

Please leave your thoughts for me; it makes my day to hear from you!


	14. Chapter 11

"So how was your cousin?" asked James, sitting back in the couch. He and Zelda had moved to the old lounge, where they knew there were no cameras. Zelda was pacing in front of the couch while James just sat, arms crossed, looking up at her.

Zelda chuckled. "She was fine… but seeing as I haven't breathed a word to her in two years, my reception was not very warm."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "What did she do?"

"She started beating my face with marigolds—she knows I'm allergic to them."

That made James laugh, which made Zelda want to both smile and cry. Somehow, she managed to add, "She's all right though. After her initial anger, she said she was glad to see me," with a straight face.

James nodded thoughtfully. "Well that's good. Did you… visit your parents as well?"

"No," sighed she, "although I wish I could've. My parents are always being watched by HYDRA. If I were to go to **_them_**_, _they would know. I couldn't check on them…" She stopped there, knowing that they were probably alive **_because_** she had betrayed James.

Betrayed. It was such an awful word. Probably because it was true.

He seemed to read her thoughts—the shadows on his face grew darker. "You know I'm not mad about what you did, right?"

Zelda blinked and stared at him.

"I'm angry about the way you did it."

Hearing that, she sighed. "I know. But what was I supposed to do?"

"Ask."

"I would never ask that of you."

"Forcing it on me was worse. I would've done it for you. I don't know what Pierce threatened to do to you, but I would've spared you from it. You didn't even think about that, though, did you? You didn't trust me—you didn't think I cared about you enough."

The hurt behind James's voice made Zelda flinch. It wasn't that she didn't love him—that was **_certainly_** not the case—it was that she **_did_**_. _She soon spoke this aloud. "James, I didn't do it because I didn't trust you. I just didn't want to ask you at all. If it was anything else Pierce threatened me with, I would've rather he done it to me. But I couldn't…"

She trailed off into silence, putting her head in her hand. "It's been two years he's been using the same threat, almost always put in the same way," she mumbled. "This isn't my choice. It's my enslavement. And I'm never going to be able to escape."

James leaned forward a little, though he mainly seemed curious. "What did he threaten you with?"

For a moment, Zelda was quiet. She didn't know if this would be a good thing to tell him… she didn't want to burden him with her problems. Then again, if Pierce ever threatened her again and James didn't know why she had to comply with his orders, that could lead to another mess. So she answered, "The death of my family. My parents, my cousin… everyone else I care about. For all I know, they're keeping tabs on **_Rory,_** for God's sake."

"Rory?"

"Maybe even Robbie. I don't know… I wouldn't put it past them." Zelda intentionally kept out who Rory was. She figured that might not go down well, even **_if_** they'd never technically been dating and even **_if_** she hadn't seen him in two years.

Now he frowned and leaned back. "So… they've been threatening your parents after all? I'd thought they just moved after you started working here…"

"They moved **_because _**I stared working here," groaned Zelda, flopping to the ground. She looked at the floor and added, "HYDRA moved them far enough away that I wouldn't try and save them, talk to them, even see them. They were my incentive to remain here… until recently."

James sighed. "It wasn't supposed to be like that."

"What?"

"I wasn't supposed to keep you tethered to this organization. I wanted to inspire you to get **_out._**"

Zelda smiled ruefully and glanced up at him. At least his blue eyes weren't angry—just a tad exasperated. "You know I wouldn't go without you."

"Maybe not. But still, there's that chance."

She laughed softly. "You know Pierce will track us down before we could get twenty miles out. I only managed to get to Salt Lake City because I left on a weekend, and my trip was spontaneous and very short. I was only there for a full day; then I came back. But this would be different, James. It wouldn't work out, and I wouldn't want you to get in trouble if we were to fail."

He sighed, but had nothing to say, because he knew she was right. They wouldn't be able to go anywhere because HYDRA was **_everywhere. _**After another moment, Zelda said, "I wish I could get **_you _**out of here… You've been here for far too long."

James shrugged, but was still silent. After a moment, however, he said, "I'm not the only person HYDRA's experimented on. I wish we could all get out…"

"What?" gasped Zelda. She'd never dared to dream that there were **_more _**people in the same position as herself and James.

He nodded. "There are more. I've heard of a couple—Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. They're twins; I've never met them. I've briefly met Evanesca… she went by Esca. But she somehow managed to escape. Not that HYDRA was angry—I heard they were disappointed about how her serum went. She is no soldier, but a healer. She has a marvelous gift to heal people. I haven't seen her in ten years."

Zelda was transfixed by those words. She couldn't believe there were more of them… it was almost too horrible to be true, yet it was also intriguing. She wondered what those people were like. But it was the girl named Esca who held her attention. "You said Esca managed to escape."

James chuckled, then said, "Only because HYDRA didn't care enough to go after her. They wanted a soldier and got a nurse. So they let her go."

Zelda sighed and ran a hand through her hair. If only their circumstances were the same as Esca's…

After a brief silence, James then said, "Zelda… how did you even get here in the first place? How did they threaten you?"

She blinked once and sighed. She would rather not remember, but she wanted him to trust her again. Because of that, Zelda sighed and answered, "I didn't mean for it to happen. I… used to work for SHIELD. Do you know what that is?"

James shook his head, confused.

"It's an organization bent on creating peace—"

"Isn't that what HYDRA does?"

Zelda gaped at him, thinking that perhaps he was playing a cruel joke. But then she saw the true questioning on his face, and she gravely shook her head. "No, James… HYDRA is an organization bent on creating **_chaos. _**They want to control the world by holding a gun to everyone's head and calling it freedom. That's how they want to protect people—by threatening them. That's what they're doing to **_me. _**

"I used to work for SHIELD, and I loved it there. I had the support of my friends, family, and my boss, Nick Fury. I worked there for two years, and I suppose I was very good at what I did, because Nick started bragging about me. When Pierce got wind of what I could do, he waited for the day when I would visit my parents and got to them before I could. Then he held a knife to my mother's neck and told me I would either join HYDRA or lose my family.

"Naturally, there was no choice for me. I love my family more than almost anything else. I had to be HYDRA. And since then, seeing as the threat worked, Pierce has kept an eye on them, knowing that as long as he held a leash on my family, he could keep a leash on **_me._**_"_

She sighed and traced one of the rug's patterns with her fingertips. Then she smirked hopelessly and added, "And Pierce knows I will do whatever he asks. That's why he's such a meretricious bastard."

James's face became stormy. "As if I didn't hate him enough already."

"The same goes for me," chuckled Zelda, but her eyes were dark. A question popped into her head suddenly, but she pushed it aside. She knew it would not be appropriate to ask—so she remained quiet.

But James could see through her like glass; so he was the one to say, "Something is bothering you."

"Yes," she answered, but she did not specify.

"You're doing it again," he sighed, moving down to sit on the ground next to her. "You're being reclusive again."

"Sorry," she laughed. "I don't mean to be. It's not something I should ask."

James, however, smirked lightly. "You're wondering how I got into this mess, aren't you? Or, if you already know—which I expect you do—you're wondering what's happened since I've been in HYDRA."

She blinked and shrugged. "Just a little," she whispered, seeing as she was ashamed to admit her curiosity.

Noting this, he smiled. "It's fine, Zelda. I asked you—now it's my turn."

"Are you sure?" she asked, glancing at him warily. "I don't want to bring anything back up that you'd rather not talk about…"

He shook his head. "It doesn't bother me as much anymore—none of it does. You know how much you've helped me, Zelda? You probably don't… I guess it's time that I tell you.

"To be honest, I don't remember much of my earliest days in HYDRA. I remember being awoken in the 1960s for the first time. I had to… carry out a mission… but before that, I was subject to high-level training. I didn't remember how to shoot a gun, where I was, or what my purpose was. I didn't even remember my own name. I don't recall who was in charge of HYDRA at that time, but I became their assassin under his lead. Once I finished my first mission, I was iced again.

"I was awoken five more times after that. Each time, I was subject to rehashing my training, rehashing the trials, and then set to a mission. It was all robotic for me. I didn't know I was missing anything. I grew to detest the similarity of my life, and I had always despised the trials, as I knew that HDYRA was simply doing it for their own purposes… but I didn't realize I had nothing.

"It was only this year—what year is it, anyway?—when I met you, that I discovered what was being taken from me. A life, a purpose. I was alive, but I wasn't. I was awake, but I wasn't. **_You _**woke me up, Zelda. You've made me feel better than I ever remember feeling. I feel normal when I'm with you, and as I've told you, I've grown to love you for it. You've given me more than anyone else ever has or could… and I'd like to thank you for that."

Zelda sighed softly hearing this. "I wish I could do more," she murmured. "I wish I could help you escape."

"We've covered this," he replied, offering a hopeless half-smile. "Neither of us would make it out twenty miles now."

"I know," she replied, still looking at the ground. "It's unfortunate, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement," grumbled James, but there was a hopeless smile on his face.

"You don't know the half of it," she sighed. "Ellis offered to hide us if ever we make it to Salt Lake City. It's painful, knowing that we have the means yet not the opportunity…" She trailed off here, not quite sure what else to say.

Both of them were quiet for a moment until she added hastily, "That is, if you would want to go."

James's gaze swerved back to her incredulously. "Of course I would. Why would you think otherwise?"

She shrugged. "In case you didn't want to go with me."

He sighed and commanded, "Zelda, look at me." When she did, he stared straight into her eyes and resumed. "I am not angry with you. In fact, I forgive you for what happened. I just want **_you _**to trust **_me. _**Until you do, I will not be able to trust **_you _**completely. There is nothing you need to hide from me, protect me from. If something is coming our way, I would rather know about it so we might face it together. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied thickly, her throat tight.

"Are you sure you do?"

She nodded and looked at him head-on. "Yes, James, I do. I promise I won't make this mistake again."

After a moment, he smiled. "I'm glad," he replied, though it was quiet. Then it was silent again as they sat, contemplating what had just been said and established. It was James who broke the silence—with a crooked grin, he said, "By the way, when are we going to finish Star Wars? You've kept me waiting long enough."

Surprised at the suddenness of this request, Zelda laughed. "I would offer to marathon the rest with you this Friday evening, but I can't because there's this stupid conference this weekend… the annual office party is next Friday, and Pierce has made it explicitly clear he wants me to attend… Maybe next Saturday?"

James nodded. "Next Saturday sounds fine with me."

"Are you really ready for this marathon? We have five movies left, you know. It's a serious commitment."

"You've kept me waiting for three weeks. By the time I watch them, it'll have been five. Does that answer your question?"

She laughed again. "I believe it does." With that, she rose and asked, "Do you want to train or anything?"

He thought for a moment before replying, "Not really. But I think it's time I start teaching you Russian."

Zelda grinned, as thrilled by the prospect now as she had been when he'd first suggested it, and sat back down. Although he might not trust her like before, at least she'd fixed most of the mess she'd made.

* * *

Yay! Another chapter! I'm still thinking about 7 left... I believe there will be about 20 total, including from James's POV.

You know the drill... Don't forget to review with your thoughts! I love your feedback!


	15. Chapter 12

The next two weeks rolled by, and life progressed rather normally for James and Zelda. While they weren't precisely as close as before, they were still good friends. From time to time, she would say something that would make him divulge his thoughts, such as, "I'm looking forward to showing you Star Wars," or, "I enjoy learning Russian from you." Most of the time, he would smile and respond positively; but although she had fixed the majority of what she'd broken, she still felt as if there was some sort of barrier between them.

Before long, it was the Thursday evening before the office party, and Zelda was in her apartment cooking some fajitas. Robbie was helping bake some zucchini bread and was gushing in approval. "Thank **_goodness _**you two are back together, I thought I would have to slap a bitch. That means you, dear."

Zelda chuckled, though her eyes were somewhat downcast. "Gee, thanks. But despite these two weeks, I feel like he doesn't completely trust me again. I'm not surprised about that, but it's still a bit of a letdown."

Robbie sighed sympathetically. "I know, honey, I know. Give it time. These things need that, don't they? I mean, look at you, it took you three stinkin' weeks to realize you liked the guy."

That made her feel a bit better—with one problem aside, she was now able to focus on the next. "You're probably right. Thanks, Robbie. Buy hey, I've got a favor to ask you."

"Speak and it shall be done."

"My annual office party is tomorrow, and everyone is required to go, including me. But I don't want to bother James about it or risk anything, so… I was wondering if maybe you would go with me."

The light in Robbie's eyes dimmed. "Oh, no! Zelda, while I would most certainly **_love _**to be your date to your party, I have a gig tomorrow night…"

"Ugh. Why is it that whenever I always need you, you have a gig?" exclaimed Zelda, although she wasn't really that angry. "I feed you and then this?"

He laughed at her mock outrage and replied, "It's not my fault you waited until now to ask me! If it had been Tuesday night, I would've said yes!"

"I didn't think I would need to," she groaned. "I was hoping everything would be fixed by now… I thought—maybe James would go with me. But I don't know now."

"Well, it's worth a **_shot,_** isn't it?!"

Zelda wasn't so sure. She didn't want to bother him, or make it seem like she was trying too hard to regain his trust. She didn't want to seem… desperate. It almost ashamed her to think that, seeing as she loved him, but she couldn't help but want to avoid **_that _**particular adjective.

Who in their right mind would want to be classified as desperate?

So that explained why, the next night, Zelda was alone in a cab on the way to HYDRA headquarters for the stupid formal party. She was dressed in a tight, floor-length red dress, her hair was curled and pinned back, and her face was covered with numerous powders and shiny things. It felt abnormal, but she figured that to keep Pierce off her back she might as well make it **_look _**like she tried.

When at last she arrived, she paid the cabbie and walked into the building. With a great sigh, she headed to the back of the building, where the large auditorium was located. She couldn't help but recall that the space where the party would be was **_also _**the place she'd had dinner with Pierce when he'd promoted her.

And what a life-changing promotion that was.

It didn't take long to arrive. When she did, Zelda felt immediately out of place. While her dress was in line with the others' present, she didn't know anyone. Wait—that wasn't true. She knew Mason Peters, Janine Kale, and Grant and Bunk. And that was it.

Before she could step inside, Pierce welcomed her at the door. "Miss Bellefleur," he exclaimed, a smile lighting his face. "It's lovely to see you."

"It's a pleasure to see you as well, sir," lied Zelda as best as she could. She hoped with the make-up on, she looked pleased instead of murderous. "It's quite a nice party."

"Isn't it," mused her boss, and then he began blabbing on about some people that she didn't know and that perhaps she should meet them. But Zelda wasn't really listening anymore—she was discreetly gazing over his shoulder and across the room, looking for James, wondering if, by some miracle, he was present.

Of course he wasn't—so when Pierce said farewell and left, she instantly trudged to the dessert table, figuring that she might as well take advantage of the free food.

Before long, Mason Peters approached her, as he had been in the IRD and therefore worked with her before she'd gotten her promotion. Zelda was a little glad he came to her—she was feeling a little lonely, and it was nice to talk to him again. He wasn't a bad guy, he just truly believed that HYDRA was an organization for good.

For a while, it was the two of them, sipping a couple strawberry daiquiris and simply catching up. Zelda forgot about being surly and ended up smiling and laughing in their conversation. But just as she was feeling rather glad she'd arrived at the office party, bad news appeared.

Grant sauntered up to them, Jeremiah Bunk flanking him. The look in his eyes was glazed over, as if he were heavily drunk. Zelda figured that was indeed the case—she glanced at him warily and was about to resume talking with Mason, but then he forcefully grabbed her arm.

"Hello, sweetheart," he slurred, smiling stupidly at her. "How's your night been?"

"It was going well until five seconds ago. Let **_go, _**Grant," growled Zelda through clenched teeth.

But of course he didn't. Despite his drunken state, the grip on her arm was painfully strong. "Why would I do that?" he smirked, blinking slowly. "You're so lovely tonight, I simply couldn't walk by without saying hello."

"That simple hello would've sufficed. It is, in fact, what most civilized men would say if they wished to interrupt a conversation. Now let go of my arm or I will slap you," retorted Zelda.

Grant just chuckled and leaned close. The tint of alcohol in his breath was nothing short of repulsive. "You and I both know you can't do anything to me."

Zelda hated this man so much. He was so utterly nauseating and misogynistic; she didn't think she could despise anyone as much as Pierce, but Grant was just one more word away from breaking that belief. She moved forward to slap him, but Mason darted forward and grabbed her arm.

"Let me take care of him," murmured Mason, gesturing to Grant with his head. "Trust me."

"**_She_** might, but **_I _**don't. Now I'd suggest you better step away and let **_me _**take care of him."

Zelda's heart stopped; for a split second it had no function, it was hollow—but the next moment, hope flooded throughout her, and relief and confusion. All she could do was blink as she watched James lightly push Mason aside and step up to Grant, who had a wicked grin on his face.

Grant hiccupped, then challenged, "What are you going to do? Kill me? I don't think so. You know what would happen to you if you did, don't you?"

"I do," replied James, eerily calm. There was a brief moment of silence—Grant started to chuckle—but then James seized his shirt collar and lifted him two inches off the ground. Grant's laughter abruptly morphed into a choke. "It's a good thing I don't care what happens to me, then, isn't it?"

And then he launched Grant into the beverage table. A mighty collision echoed throughout the enclosed space. Zelda gasped and stared at the wreckage… shards of glass showered over a now unconscious Grant, various liquids pooling beside and atop him. It was obvious the table was broken—maybe one of Grant's bones as well. Zelda couldn't tell, and she wasn't necessarily eager to know.

The commotion was loud, but with the volume of the band, only a few close people turned to look. Opposite James and Zelda, Jeremiah Bunk and Mason Peters stared, wide-eyed at Grant.

"That's one way to crash a party," Mason said at last with a crooked grin. He turned to Zelda and added, "Good evening, Zelda."

She nodded and waved, though she could only manage a small smile. Mason walked away after returning the wave, though Jeremiah lingered just long enough to shoot James a death glare before skulking out the door.

After a moment, the whole ruckus was forgotten, as everyone was lost in the music again.

It was then that Zelda finally swallowed. "James… you came?"

He turned slowly and offered her a small smile. "Of course I did," he answered softly. "I couldn't just stand to the side while he… well." He shrugged as if this gesture alone was an explanation.

Zelda allowed herself to grin as well. "Thank you for defending me. I don't think **_he'll _**come close anytime soon," she added with a small giggle. The people who'd been in line for that particular beverage table were now congregated around another on the opposite side of the room.

A smug smirk appeared on James's face. "Slimy bastard," he grumbled. The insult made Zelda laugh, because he'd called Grant the same thing during their last mission.

Once there was a split second of silence, she waved her arm around the room. "So how are you feeling about… all this?"

He perused the scene, then shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like how dances used to be…"

"You'd be surprised if you went to a **_real _**dancing party, then. It's not really called a 'dance' anymore, though. Nowadays, we call it 'clubbing.'"

"Why do they call it that?"

"I have no idea… probably because it's held at dance clubs. Actually, that would make a lot of sense…" Zelda reveled in the discovery for a split second before adding with a laugh, "It's not my forte, so I'm afraid I'm not any more knowledgeable than you with that stuff. If you want more information about clubbing, go to Robbie. Those places are his niche."

James seemed amused by that, but he protested, "I don't doubt Robbie knows a lot, but you have to know something about dancing, too."

With this, Zelda grinned. "I know how to dance, though I may not be the best in the world at it. Come on!" And, inspired by a sudden spurt of bravery, she grabbed James's arm and pulled him towards the floor despite his protests that he hadn't danced in seventy years and he didn't plan on breaking tradition today.

Too late, though. She had successfully maneuvered through the crowd to the dance floor, where many others were jumping around and waving their arms. Over the noise, she shouted, "See, there aren't really any choreographed dances these days! We just roll with the music!"

"I can tell!" replied James, cautiously glancing around. He looked uncomfortable—seeing this, Zelda frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "If you really want, we can head back…"

He shook his head. "No, it's… fine. I'm just—not all that good—with crowded spaces." The way he seemed to survey his surroundings confirmed what he said.

"Hey," said Zelda. His gaze swerved sharply back to her. She put a hand on his arm and said, "Don't look at them. Look at me, okay? Who gives a rat's ass about what they do or think?"

Luckily, her words seemed to comfort him, because afterward they started dancing. Zelda was surprised by how well James accommodated—though she supposed that after being trained, one would know how to move on his feet. Still, she couldn't deny that she was having more fun than she'd had in a long time.

As they were dancing, James seemed to forget about the crowd. He loosened up to be the man she knew him to be, especially whenever they were training or playing Nintendo games. Zelda sincerely hoped that this was a sign that said he was beginning to trust her again.

While she was thinking this, someone accidentally trod upon her long dress. She gasped and almost toppled backwards—but James lunged to grab her arm and yank her back toward him.

The man stammered an apology, but Zelda hardly noticed. She was right up against James, his hand on her back as if to ensure she would not fall, and he was looking down at her with an expression of concern. "Are you all right?" he asked.

It took a minute for her to respond. But then she cleared her throat and nodded. "Yes, I am. Thank you, James…"

She stepped back afterward, but he didn't let go of her hand. Zelda noticed this and glanced at him curiously. "Since five movies takes an awfully long time… would you like to get started on the next one now? It's getting late anyway, and I've probably had too many daiquiris than is good for me…"

That last made him chuckle. "I'd be glad to start the next one," he replied. "Although, like you said, isn't it getting late?"

She shrugged. "I have nothing else to do."

He smiled at her response. "Neither do I." His thumb lightly caressed her palm, as neither of them had disturbed their intertwined hands.

Zelda shivered a little at the touch, but a large smile was on her face. "Excellent, _The Empire Strikes Back_ is on its way—but, if I may, on one condition. Can you help me remove all the bugs that Pierce might've put around my apartment? I've tried looking for them, but no luck…"

James laughed now before querying, "Why do you want to remove them?"

"I have many reasons," huffed Zelda, looking up at him with mock superiority. "For one, if I want to call my cousin, I don't want him knowing I'm in contact with her. Two, I don't want him listening to our conversations. And three, it annoys me whenever he plays _Guess Who_ to my Netflix choice."

At her reasoning, James shook his head hopelessly, but he responded nonetheless, "Of course I'll help."

With that, they left the party and hailed a cab. When Zelda realized that James still hadn't let go of her hand, she discovered that despite her first misgivings, the office party wasn't all that bad.

After all, she was with James.

* * *

So, I'm still figuring out the exact number of chapters that I want, but I know I'm including a bonus James chapter! That'll be fun... I'm still shooting for the end of May to be completely finished, so stay tuned, because my updates might be daily or every other day now!

Also, I'd like to take this time to thank each and every one of you for reading. You guys, this story has over 4000 views... That's a lot for me! So thanks so much for coming back whenever I update, for following, favoriting, reviewing, and all that jazz. You're seriously the best.

If you'd be so kind as to leave your thoughts for me in a review, that would make my day. A huge thanks to you all again; I'll update very soon!


	16. James (2)

It took James less than ten minutes to find all the electronic bugs around Zelda's apartment. He didn't know **_how _**she'd never located them before—maybe she didn't hear the little mechanical whirring the way he did.

At any rate, crushing the contraptions like beetles was very satisfying.

Once he'd done that, as promised, Zelda pulled up the fifth Star Wars movie. James could not say he wasn't excited. He had resisted the temptation to watch them without her or research some spoilers on the Internet, and now he was glad he did. The movies would be much sweeter this way.

It was hard, however, to give his undivided attention to the film. Zelda was much too beautiful to ignore—he'd gaped at her a fair amount when she'd first entered the office party. She hadn't seen him because he was on the mezzanine, looking down at the scene. It had only been when Grant bothered her that James decided to approach.

He thought he'd be prepared for how pretty she would look, but he wasn't. It was laughable, the way he felt like a schoolboy with a hopeless crush on the most popular girl in the grade. Not for the first time, he wondered how someone like her could ever love someone isolated like himself.

"Are you paying attention?"

Zelda's teasing voice snapped him out of his reverie. With a start, he realized he'd been looking at her for a minute or so. He resisted the flush that threatened to appear on his face and said lamely, "Sorry, I was thinking."

"About what?"

It was hard to disregard the little smirk in her voice. It was very enticing—damn it. He needed to stop thinking about how appealing she was. It probably wasn't healthy.

"Nothing important," he lied. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Zelda was the most important thing in his life right now.

"I thought we weren't keeping secrets from each other?"

He groaned. "I really hate it when you resurface things I say for your own benefit."

She snickered a little and inched closer. James tried not to stare, but it was hard. The shoulder of her dress was barely slipping, and it was the dumbest thing to notice but he did. "So tell me what the deal is."

James sighed, wondering if he would be able to weasel his way out of this. Probably not, but perhaps it was worth a try. "I'm trying to deduce if there're any plot twists coming my way by looking at your expression."

"Well, that's no fun," pouted Zelda, crossing her arms. In her pout, her bottom lip protruded just enough for him to notice. He wanted to kiss her, but resisted—damn woman. He couldn't keep his eyes off her for two minutes. He felt powerless when he was with her, and that was not normal.

He was the infamous Winter Soldier, master assassin, super-soldier, weapons professional extraordinaire. And he was completely in love with this nerd who spent her free time watching Netflix.

His life was something else.

"Fine, fine, I'll just watch the film," he surrendered, holding his hands up in defeat.

She grinned and sat back again. "That's more like it."

But he noticed she hadn't moved back to her exact original spot, meaning that if he wanted, he'd be able to grab her hand or put his arm around her or something. Was this a sign?

He didn't know, so he stayed put.

Another hour passed, and while the movie was intriguing, James still struggled to pay 100% attention. As time progressed, he noticed that she was steadily becoming more and more antsy, as if something were about to happen.

Finally, the bomb exploded.

"**_WHAT?!_**" shouted James, leaping up from his seat. "Darth Vader is **_who? _**Wait, **_what?! _**Did I—did I miss something?"

Zelda burst out laughing at his indignation.

James, meanwhile, was cursing in rapid-fire Russian because wow, plot twist! He didn't **_actually _**think there'd **_be one! _**What the hell!

It was only a moment later that he realized he'd ranted that out loud, and that Zelda was clutching her sides and was laughing so hard she fell with a _THUMP _to the floor.

For a moment, James let himself rant the indignation clean. He still hadn't been expecting that—but his attention was brought back to Zelda, who had just choked out, "Where's the video camera when you need it?!"

"You leave your music box out of this!" he exclaimed, though he gingerly picked her up and laid her on the couch. "I don't need a permanent reminder of the day you **_scarred me for life._**"

Too late; she already had.

But she didn't need to know that.

Zelda just broke into laughter again. James watched her with outrage before muttering, "I hate you," even though he felt the complete opposite way.

She seemed to see right through his comment. "No, you don't."

James opened his mouth to say something snarky, the way she probably would have—but something stopped him. For some reason, he felt compelled to say, "You're right, I don't. I love you."

Zelda abruptly stopped laughing. She shot up like a rocket and stared at him, and he knew why she did. This was the first time he'd told her he'd loved her since the day she'd been forced to experiment on him. It had been two weeks, and saying it like this, after those fourteen days, might be a bit of a shock on her.

As it was, she simply stared at him. The movie was still playing in the background, but James didn't care about that anymore. His mind was on Zelda again: what was she thinking? She still loved him, didn't she? Or—maybe that Mason guy—no, James didn't think—wait—what just?

When did he kiss her? Because now he was kissing her and his attention was solely on that and, more importantly, that she was kissing **_him. _**

So she still loved him?

He decided to test this theory. Through the kiss, he managed to murmur, "Does this mean you love me again?"

Zelda broke away just enough to gaze into his eyes. The look on her face was exasperated yet loving yet the slightest bit sad. "I never stopped," she whispered, placing one hand on his face.

And that was all he needed. He kissed her again, he didn't care anymore, he wanted to let her know just how loved she was. He was careful to keep his left arm by his side so he wouldn't hurt her, but he kept his other arm around her back, gripping her waist and pulling her toward him—he didn't want to ever let her go.

Suddenly, with a short yelp, Zelda fell over him. James, however, just smirked. He'd done that on purpose—she seemed to realize it, because she rolled her eyes and muttered, "Really?"

"Believe it," he replied, kissing her forehead. "I don't give a damn anymore. I love you more than I could ever say in words, and I'd do anything to have you close to me."

She smiled hearing his words. With a shock, he realized that there were tears in her eyes. "God, I've been so worried," she almost sobbed. "I thought—you didn't—trust me anymore, love me anymore. For a while, I was sure…"

He scoffed before she could finish. "You should've seen my face when I saw you tonight. Any doubts you'd had would've flied out the window."

"How did you manage to show up at the right time, anyway?"

James shrugged sheepishly. "I might have noticed you arrived since I was up on the mezzanine…"

"Well, you made one hell of an entrance," murmured Zelda, though when she blinked, a tear rolled down her face despite her relieved smile.

"That was the point," he retorted, burying his face in her hair, lightly kissing her neck. Encouraged by her little gasp, he kissed her lips again because why the hell not? Although she looked better with all that shiny crap off her face, she was still beautiful, and she still drove him crazy—that fact was supported by the shiver that ran up his spine when she whispered his name.

But however much he wanted to keep kissing her, holding her, James couldn't let it get too far. He didn't want to endanger her, whether it be from his arm or if Pierce somehow got wind of how deep their relationship might go—no. He couldn't.

So he picked her up in his arms and walked her over to the bed, gently laying her down on it. "You need to rest," he murmured.

"I need no such thing," she retorted, not looking tired in the slightest. "I need to know you do love me. I feel like this is all a dream, James."

"It's the daiquiris," he grinned. "They're addling your reality."

"I only had three!"

Her indignation made his fists clench. He wanted to kiss her again, so badly. He probably wanted more than that but he forced himself not to think about it. "And it's time you sleep it off."

Zelda, however, stood back up. "You haven't finished the movie," she accused.

"If I go back to the couch with you to pretend to watch the film, I'm going to end up kissing you again," he admitted, his eyes at the ceiling.

"Maybe that's the point."

This response shocked him into looking at her again. And was **_that _**a mistake. Her arms were crossed, and the usual smirk was on her face, and before he could say or do anything, she was the one to approach and kiss **_him _**this time and damn it he couldn't do anything to protest. After all, he **_wanted _**to kiss her, to love her and damn it again he shouldn't think about that.

Too late—Zelda seemed to read his mind again, because she giggled lightly and remarked, "You're noble all of a sudden."

"Maybe," he replied evasively. After a moment of silence in which she looked expectantly at him, he added, "Or maybe I just don't want to hurt you."

"How are you going to hurt me?" she demanded, hands on her waist.

He looked at his arm in answer—Zelda's annoyance melted.

"James," she murmured, "you wouldn't hurt me. Not like that—not like this."

"I can't be sure."

"Then let me be sure for you. You'd never hurt me, intentionally or otherwise. And I'll prove it."

With that, she placed his cybernetic arm around her waist and kissed him fiercely. Caught by surprise, James tensed and pulled her closer to him; he hadn't seen anything like this from her before, and his barriers broke—until he realized, with horrification, that his metal arm was around her, and he curtly pushed her away.

Zelda, however, just smiled. "I'm fine," she mumbled. "I really am."

James gazed at her skeptically—when, however, she twirled around and said, "No marks; nothing," he had to admit it went better than he'd expected.

After a moment, he sighed. "I still worry."

She smiled sympathetically and replied, "You don't need to. Nothing that could happen would stop me from loving you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder; a simple gesture, but one that made James want her more than anything else. It was nice to feel like he could protect her.

When James pulled away slightly, she opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, he surprised himself by daringly brushing back a piece of her hair behind her ear with his metal arm. Zelda noticed too; the smile on her face grew larger.

"See?" she whispered. At this point, her very voice made him want to kiss her again. "No need to worry."

"Aren't I glad." And without wasting any more time—because screw it, he loved her and wasn't afraid anymore—he kissed her again.

A minute passed, and shit—his clothes were on the floor, and he may or may not have accidentally ripped the zipper off her dress and/or destroyed the dress itself. But whatever. He couldn't honestly say he didn't want to.

At any rate, he'd approached her at the office party tonight to see if she loved him still.

James guessed this was a confirmation.

* * *

Hello! I'm planning on updating again later this evening, so keep your eyes peeled! Thanks again sooo much for reading and following this story, you guys. It means the world to me to know that you enjoy it!

Rate, review, and all that jazz! :)


	17. Chapter 13

"Shit."

Zelda woke up the next morning to see her beautiful dress torn in half. Seeing it, her face turned about the same color when she remembered what happened the previous night.

She sat up and put her hands to her face. Did she dare to look beside her? She did. Welp, there was James, looking peaceful and amazingly sexy without his shirt on and damn it, what was she supposed to do? Pretend to go back to sleep, because guess what, she wouldn't actually be able to fall back asleep now. Or should she get up?

Zelda decided to. Besides, she was hungry.

She carefully left the bed, trying to locate her exercise shorts and ignore the fact that she had absolutely nothing on. When at last she found her Sonic the Hedgehog t-shirt and a suitable pair of black shorts, she swiftly slipped those on and no less than sprinted out of the room to start cooking some eggs or something.

She quietly grabbed the necessary equipment and ingredients for scrambled eggs and toast, trying not to think about what just happened. As she cooked the eggs, she put her hand over her eyes. Good grief—what was she supposed to **_say _**when he came in? **_Good morning?! _**It was bad enough already that he knew he was her first—did she have to be awkward about it, too?

Zelda yelped when she felt a pair of arms sneak around her waist, and heard James laugh. "Well, then," he exclaimed. "Here I was about to say good morning."

Apparently that **_was _**what she was supposed to say?

"You startled me," was what she replied instead. Zelda felt like smacking herself.

"So I gathered." James's voice was amused, and she felt her face heat up.

After a moment of debating what to say, she at last said, "Well, if you want breakfast, you're going to have to avoid scaring me for the rest of the morning. Or else I won't feed you."

"I'll keep that in mind," he chuckled, which made her smile. At least she wasn't making a **_complete _**fool of herself.

With that smile on her face, she put the eggs on two plates—when she put them on the table, however, she caught a glimpse of the twelve broken bugs planted there by Pierce. Not one of them was working now, thanks to James.

James walked over and looked at them too. She couldn't help but notice that while he'd dressed in pants, he hadn't bothered with a shirt. He seemed to notice she was glancing at him; with a smirk at her direction, he gestured to the broken bugs and murmured, "Guess it's a good thing we got rid of those. I don't think we'd want Pierce listening to **_you._**"

"Shut up. Just—shut up," she gasped, swiftly avoiding his gaze and choosing to ignore his laughter. Her face turned a ridiculous shade of pink—so much for not feeling like a fool.

Just as she thought this, the toaster noisily popped the bread out. Zelda hadn't been expecting it, so she yelped—James, who had jumped too, pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot the device.

Twice.

For a minute, Zelda simply glanced between James, who was glaring at the toaster, and the toaster itself. But then, realizing exactly what had just happened, she exclaimed, "My toaster!"

She looked over the machine. Unfortunately, James's aim was as true as it was all other days. It was pretty much dead.

Zelda turned back to face James, her hands on her hips. "You just killed my toaster."

"Is that what that was?" he asked, lowering the gun but not entirely putting it away. The glare in his eye was still wary.

"Yes. It was a toaster. Key word being **_was. _**It toasts bread and apparently scares the crap out of master assassins!"

Hearing this, James just shrugged and carelessly tossed the gun onto the table. "Sorry," he said. "It caught me by surprise."

Deciding to hold the incident over his head, Zelda made sure to emulate his previous smirk as she declared, "Just think. He who can throw a grown man into a table of beverages, can shoot a moving target a hundred feet away, and can make a girl scream in bed, gets scared by a **_toaster._**"

James groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"Never," retorted Zelda, sure to put on an evil leer.

He only rolled his eyes—just then, her phone beeped.

"Your music box has something to tell you," remarked James.

"It's a **_cell phone!_**" she laughed, even though she knew that that was not an argument she'd ever be able to win. She picked up the phone and saw, in a text message, the words: _Locate Soldier and report to HQ in thirty minutes. –Pierce_

She groaned. "We're being called to work."

"Why? It's Saturday."

"Don't ask me, I've got no clue. But his Royal Majesty summons us, so I suppose we'd better get ready. We've only got half an hour. You'd better eat…" Zelda put a hand on his shoulder and smiled sadly. She knew that it would be mission-related, or Pierce would not have called them… But then, she happened to glance at her toaster again. "By the way, you owe me a toaster."

James glanced at it too, then looked back at Zelda. "I regret to inform you I have no toaster upon my person, and that I have no idea how to acquire one. I believe, however, we can come to another agreement in exchange for my apparent debt." He put one arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, which made Zelda feel weak. Damn him and his appeal.

"Perhaps we can," she replied, "but that is something to be discussed another time. We're going to be late otherwise."

"That's true," he muttered. Then he kissed her cheek and added, "I'd hate for Pierce to get any **_ideas _**about where we are."

"Oh, will you **_stop_**," she sighed.

James, however, just smirked. "You do realize that at one point in my life, I was in the army, right?"

"Unfortunately, that is true. Everything makes more sense now," grumbled Zelda. It was her turn to roll her eyes—but they managed to have a normal conversation as they ate, and before long, they were heading towards the subway.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Zelda and James were standing in front of Pierce as he talked about the next portion of the mission.

"This is just a planning phase, you see," said Pierce as he paced back and forth in front of them. His blue eyes were wide with eagerness. "But if this mission succeeds, HYDRA will no longer have any opposition to meet our goals. You shall not have to be frozen again, James, for a very long time…"

Pierce made sure to look at both James and Zelda as he said this last. But Zelda was not so sure that her boss was telling the complete truth—since when did he ever show mercy or kindness? Since they started succeeding? No, there was more, there was something great to be done in order for him to offer such a reward for **_both _**of them.

"What do we need to do?" asked Zelda.

The leader of HYDRA grinned, yet it looked more like a leer. "The final part of the mission is approaching. We have only one true obstacle in the way of our goal…"

"Steve Rogers," interjected James, his eyes narrowing in remembrance. He glanced at Zelda sideways, but she swore not to look at him.

Could she sacrifice SHIELD for her and James's happy ending?

"You are correct, Soldier," replied Pierce, though to Zelda, his voice was far away. "He is the last obstacle in the way of world peace. We need you to eliminate him now more than ever. Tomorrow, I go to visit the enemy's headquarters. Steve Rogers will most likely show up there… that is when I need you to finish your job. Ms. Bellefleur, you shall be beside him, covering Soldier's back and rallying all of our eyes within the other organization. Do you copy?"

Zelda nodded blankly and replied, "I do," without truly meaning it.

Could she really do this?

This wasn't just about letting James kill his own best friend. This was also about letting the entire world be subject to gunpoint—for her own happiness.

Anyone else in HYDRA would've chosen themselves.

But she wasn't HYDRA.

She was SHIELD.

And so Zelda made up her mind right then that she would tell James everything, she would get the file to prove it, she would tell him and try to run away no matter the consequences.

Luckily, Pierce wasn't looking at her when she finalized her resolve. And so he said, "Excellent, Ms. Bellefleur. Now, as this week I have allowed for you to skip the trials, I expect you to be in top shape for tomorrow, Soldier. I would like to see some excellent aim."

James just smirked. "You can count on that, sir."

"Excellent," repeated Pierce. Then he focused on Zelda, who by that time had made her expression the same as it had been before—accepting. "And I will expect the same out of you, Ms. Bellefleur."

"I will not disappoint, sir," she replied.

Pierce smiled and nodded. "That is good. I have come to expect great things from you." And with that, he nodded towards them, said, "Better get on some training," and left.

Once he was gone, Zelda breathed out in relief. She had suspected that she and James were in great trouble whenever he'd called them in—and on a weekend, no less. But it turned out that what she would have to do would be harder than she'd expected… She would have to tell James the truth, that she'd been lying to him, that he couldn't complete the mission, not like this.

"How about we start with lightweight machine guns?" she asked instead.

If she would be telling James the truth, she would need time to collect her thoughts.

"That sounds good," replied James, and then he walked to the rack of many guns and started picking some out. When he walked back over to Zelda, he had a second one in his hand. With a smile, he handed it to her and said, "You've been getting better with these, but I don't want you in danger tomorrow. I'd feel better if you trained with me…"

"So would I," she answered. "But tonight, I'll need to talk to you about tomorrow. There are just some things that I need you warn you about in regards to the mission."

"You mean about Steve Rogers?" he asked, firing the gun in rapid succession. James all but demolished the target in front of him—with a sigh, he approached the next one. "I already have a feel for his fighting style, so don't worry about me there," he added with a chuckle.

"It's not that," shouted Zelda over the firing of his gun. "It's something else."

James smiled and walked over to her. "We'll focus on that when we get to it. After all, after tomorrow… if everything goes well, we might have a chance for peace, Zelda… I've never realized how badly I would like it before."

With a sincere smile on his face, he ushered her to shoot the gun. So she did—most of her targets were within the innermost two rings, though only one hit the bulls-eye. James seemed comforted nonetheless.

After another hour of training, when they'd used up almost all of the ammunition for both semi-automatics and pistols, Zelda could contain it no longer. "James, we need to return to my apartment so I can talk to you."

He sensed her urgency and placed a hand on her waist. "What is it?" he asked, no longer in a joking mood as he had been the previous hour.

"Important," she whispered, nervously glancing around the room. "And not for these walls."

James seemed to understand immediately. "Let's catch the subway," he suggested, and then they did so without another word.

Back at Zelda's apartment, she made James wait in the kitchen while she unearthed his file from underneath a pile of jeans in her drawer. She had hidden it there long ago, the night after they'd first played Mario Kart, hoping that she could forget about it. After all, she could do nothing to help him with the file. She thought the information would only hurt him.

It was only now that she realized how cowardly she'd been to not tell James the truth about his past.

Emerging from her room, Zelda clutched the file to her chest. James saw the manila envelope and asked, "Have you received a package?"

"Of a sorts," she replied, plopping it down with a deep breath. "Open it."

James raised an eyebrow, but did as she bade him. When he saw the picture attached, his face paled. "Is… that…?"

"Yes," she answered. James looked back up at her with a confused, lost expression. It broke her heart. "Now listen to me, please, with no interruptions. What Pierce is offering us is a life pledged in his service for whenever he needs us in the future. But to gain that small degree of freedom, we would need to betray the entire world. If you listen closely and we act quick, I think I might know how to spare the world **_and _**ourselves from HYDRA at the same time."

* * *

There we are, two updates in one day! BAM. I'm loving this whole "summer" thing, where I get to write more and do homework less! Thanks for reading again! You're still the bomb dot com!

(in the tune of "Happy and You Know It") If you're reading and you like it, please review! XD


	18. Chapter 14

"Now, this file is all about you; who you were, how they found you, what they did to you, what they've made you do. It even has what they might need you to do in the future, and how they'll keep tabs on you so that you couldn't escape them. But the thing is that you **_can, _**and you must.

"I want you to read through this file… it tells you all about your past, including your full name, your age, that you were in the United States Army during the Second World War, and that you were best friends with Steve Rogers, the very man that Pierce is ordering you to kill. This is one of the reasons why I'm telling you all this—I couldn't just let you do something you might regret, if ever you regain your memories. I can't let that happen, and I'm sorry if this information pains you. But there's more about Steve Rogers you need to know.

"Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, is the last defense of SHIELD, the organization I told you about that upholds world peace and diplomacy. At least, it used to… HYDRA agents have infiltrated SHIELD's ranks recently, and that has changed everything. I don't know who they've corrupted or killed to transform their loyalties or end them… But I know that Steve Rogers will defend what is left of SHIELD, and that if you kill him, the last barrier SHIELD has will be gone, and HYDRA will be all that is left.

"The problem stands thus, then—if you kill Steve Rogers, there goes the world. If you don't, there goes your life. Which means that the only option left is to run, never mind the consequences, never mind **_anything_**. You have to **_go_**—but, if you would have me, I would go with you.

"I've done some research in my spare time—HYDRA has eyes on all corners of the world where there is **_not _**a HYDRA headquarters. Some places where they do not have an extensive reign include Germany, Luxembourg, Canada, and Ireland. But there're cameras almost everywhere here and Mexico. That means, since we are in New York, that Canada would be the most ideal place for you to hide. It might take a while to establish a place there, but I would be glad to help you, if you would be okay with my going. Whether you do or don't, you need to remain in Canada for at least six months, because we will not know if HYDRA lives or survives, or if SHIELD lives or survives—if either or both of them do.

"I'm so sorry I never got to tell you this before, James. I've been too frightened to betray HYDRA because of my parents, but I cannot hide the truth from you any longer. You needed to **_know. _**I'm not afraid anymore of what they'll do to me… I just need you safe. I just need you away from here, James, because they'll do whatever they can to you and I cannot watch them do that, I can't."

With a start, Zelda realized she was crying, and that James was simply staring at her in slight open-mouthed shock, his eyes swimming with everything he'd just read in the file, everything he'd watched and heard her say. After a moment that seemed like an eternity, he pulled her into a tight hug and murmured, "You are coming with me. I would not leave you here for anything. Thank you for… telling me."

"It's a burden, I know, I'm sorry," she sobbed. "But what else could I do, James? I can't keep lying to you, keeping you in the dark about all this. I want to help you regain your memories now, in safety, or at least out of HYDRA's immediate grasp."

James was just silent, keeping his arms around her. Zelda didn't know what else to say except that she was sorry, so she said it once more before he finally cut her off.

"Zelda, I'm not mad at you," he murmured into her ear. "You have a family to protect, other people you are responsible for. I know it isn't your fault… but if you are right, if you are really telling the truth, then we must leave **_now._**"

She lifted her head off his shoulder and kissed his forehead. "Yes, right now," she murmured. "You are right."

He smiled at her and, before she could stand, he picked her up in his arms and moved towards her room so she could grab a few essentials. Upon feeling her being lifted up, Zelda gasped a little before hearing James chuckle and say, "Grab what you need, then we'll be off."

"Do you want to stop by headquarters to grab anything?"

James stared at her incredulously. "Absolutely not. The only reason I'd want to go back and grab something was if we were having a burning ceremony."

That made Zelda laugh—swiftly, she grabbed her purse and stuffed a wad of cash, her bank card, and her ID inside it, and with that, she ran out into the living room/kitchen before gasping, "Oh! I have to write Robbie a note."

"It'd be bad if we just disappeared on him," admitted James. "But hurry."

With that, Zelda rushed over to a notepad she always kept in the kitchen drawer and whipped a pen out of her purse.

_Dear Robbie, _

_James and I are facing a big conundrum at work, and we need to go away for now. I have your number in my cell phone, and while I will not be available to call or text for about a month, I'll find a way to contact you._

_I'm sorry we can't explain further, but stay __**away **__from my workplace. They are not what they seem and I do not want you getting hurt._

_With Love, Zelda_

Finished, Zelda threw the pen back into her satchel and exclaimed, "Done! Come on, James."

He hurried after her—Zelda made sure to lock her apartment door behind her. Then she slipped the note under Robbie's door, hoping that he would receive it when he came home from work or band practice or wherever he was.

Without wasting any more time, they got in the elevator and started descending to the ground floor… Zelda was nervous. She didn't know what else to do besides flee to Canada. All she had planned was to use public transportation for as long as she could, seeing as she didn't have a car and a bus would be more inconspicuous anyway.

Even so, she found herself biting her nails in the elevator. James glanced at her and gently grazed her shoulder with his hand.

She looked at him at the gesture, and he smiled. "No matter what happens, it will be all right. I believe that… and I'm thankful for being able to believe it."

"I wish I was as optimistic as you," giggled Zelda, though it was an anxious giggle and not at all filled with any mirth.

"Perhaps that is because I know what I've developed from. I'd rather be hunted by all of HYDRA with all the memories I have now, with you, than be sitting in that chair with no idea of who I am or what I'm missing. So thank you, Zelda, for everything—good and bad."

"You make it sound like something is going to happen," she murmured.

"Something **_is _**going to happen," he mumbled. "They're waiting for us."

She gasped. "How do you know?"

"I saw their van outside. They must have put new cameras in your apartment, higher quality…"

She opened her mouth to say something, but her opportunity was cut off, because at that moment, the elevator doors opened. And sure enough, five HYDRA soldiers were standing at the door, pointing pistols at them.

At the front of the line was Pierce. Grant was by his side.

Pierce looked utterly disappointed. "My, my. Were we thinking of taking a little road trip?" he asked.

Zelda refused to gape like a fish. Instead, she held her head high and remained silent. What was there to say? He only had to search her bag and find all the money there to know that they weren't just going for a normal outing.

After a moment of complete quiet, Pierce sighed and said, "You know, Bellefleur, I was really hoping you wouldn't become a bad influence on Soldier. It turned out my faith was misplaced."

"**_Bad influence?!_**" roared James so loudly that Zelda jumped and stared at him. "I was your zombie for **_seventy goddamn years, _**Pierce! I would rather die this moment than return to the life I had before I met her!"

Pierce narrowed his eyes. "That can be arranged, Soldier."

"Fine, go ahead. But good luck with your mission tomorrow," exclaimed James, throwing his hands up in the air. "I hope you can exterminate Steve Rogers, **_my best friend, _**without me."

This made everyone stop short. Grant glanced at Pierce, who was glaring at James, whose fists were clenched. Zelda had to resist from placing a hand on his shoulder—whether it would be to encourage or comfort him, she didn't know.

That silence was broken by Pierce, who said to Grant, "Bring them both back to headquarters. I have little time for this."

Grant grinned evilly and nudged James's arm with the barrel of his pistol. The look in his brown eyes was eager, and Zelda wished she could punch it straight out of his skull. Unfortunately, with three out of five guns pointing toward James, she wouldn't risk his life for a brief second of revenge.

And so she allowed herself to be escorted out of the building by the people who were once her coworkers, knowing that there was nothing else she could do.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Zelda, James, Pierce, Grant, Jeremiah Bunk, and three other HYDRA guards were seated in the training room. There was a chair brought in the room for Zelda to sit in—she was tied to the chair with ropes, as if to ensure she couldn't escape or be rescued. James, meanwhile, remained standing.

Grant was holding a gun to Zelda's temple, though his finger was off the trigger. For that much, both she and James were grateful, but James was still apprehensive as Pierce sauntered towards them.

"Let me make it clear… I am **_very _**disappointed that things did not go as planned. I was perfectly willing to let both of you go after tomorrow… you two could've had a life together, yet you chose to throw it away. That is such a pity, after all your years of service."

"Cut the niceties, Pierce, and tell me what you want," snapped James, his blue eyes filled with hate.

Grant pushed the gun a little harder against Zelda's head, making her gasp.

James couldn't help but glance at her; Pierce noticed the gesture too. "Careful, or Grant might have to make this room a little messy." Hearing the silence from James, he then smirked. "I did tell you not to form an attachment to the girl, Soldier. You made yourself vulnerable by doing so."

"I don't care," he retorted bluntly. "I love her. There is no denying that."

Grant groaned in clear disgust—Zelda wished, more than ever, that she could duct tape him to the wall and shoot him repetitively or something. As it was, she was in no position to do as such, so she listened to Pierce, who was talking. "That **_is _**unfortunate. She has completely broken you… you were such an asset to HYDRA before."

"When, before I literally got a life?" grumbled James. His comment made a ghost of a smile appear on Zelda's face. At least he was being safely sarcastic where he could.

Pierce shook his head, but turned away from him and towards Zelda instead. "It appears, Bellefleur, that you have done quite a number on him. Tell me, how was that possible, when you were torturing him weekly?"

Zelda figured that she was already dead, so she presented him a sadistic grin. "**_I didn't,_**" she snarled, tensing as if to pounce. "You fool, you swallowed my fake data with no question. The data was a **_pattern, _**Pierce, a goddamn pattern. As if I would **_ever _**hurt someone like that for your hellish organization! I'd sooner shoot myself now than ever experiment on James again. **_I will not let James or I be your puppet any longer!_**"

She struggled against the ropes that were tying her to the chair, wishing with all her might that she could break free and sink her fingernails into Pierce's eye sockets. But alas—that was impossible.

As it was, Pierce's face morphed from disappointed to incredulous. "Amazing," he whispered. "I never thought… not once. You truly are an accomplished woman, Bellefleur. It's very unfortunate that you have most unwisely set yourself against me."

"When you are enslaving me and the one I love, do you expect me to support you?" she asked evenly.

He sighed. "All this love. It weakens you. Like Soldier here, Zelda, love has made you weak. But compared to him, you are slightly weaker. Allow me to demonstrate."

With that, Pierce clapped his hands, and the lights in the room dimmed. A projection screen flickered on against the far wall, revealing a scene that was very familiar to Zelda—perhaps cause she had seen it only three weeks ago.

It was her parent's house. Her mother was upstairs, reading a book and humming to herself, and her father was cooking something for lunch for them.

Her breath caught. No—not even Pierce could be so cruel as to **_show her_**—

"Whenever you're ready, Thompson."

It was too quick for Zelda to even close her eyes. There were two rapid bangs, shots that sounded remotely like fireworks, one right after the other. She blinked, and when she focused on the projection again, they were lying upon the floor, the book fallen to the ground as her mother's head lolled around upon the chair, her father's spatula on top of his chest. Streams of red flowed from their temples, and their stares were glassy and blank.

For a moment, she couldn't believe it. She blinked again. They were still lying upon the floor. Dead.

It took another second for the realization to really sink in; when it did, Zelda couldn't blink fast enough to keep back her tears. Two years of fighting for her parent's lives, worth nothing. She had failed. She had failed them, herself.

James's words of comfort meant nothing to her as her eyes remained locked on her parent's limp forms. Knowing that restraining her fury and sadness would only harm her, and that she hardly had anything else to lose, she opened her mouth and screamed.

* * *

Thanks for reading, guys! It's great to know that I've got people following this story... Unfortunately, it is almost at its end. I have three more chapters and a closing note before it's over...

You lot know what to do. Read, review, be happy. :)


	19. Chapter 15

It took a couple minutes for Zelda to stop screaming; she had regressed from wordless shrieks of injustice to obscene curses at Pierce. As she screeched at Pierce, he stood in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back, his icy blue eyes staring mercilessly down at her.

James, meanwhile, was attempting to get her to calm down, if only a little. He pulled her close to him and murmured words in her ear, but they were still lost to Zelda. As much as she loved him, not even he would be able to console her now.

Finally, when she was quiet, she glared hatefully down at the ground. Just as she was powerless to stop her parents' death, so she would be helpless to stop James's…

"Soldier, it appears that I have no choice but to force you to complete your mission."

Pierce's words made Zelda snap back up to look at him questioningly, yet still with a fair amount of despising. Upon discovering that she had indeed heard him correctly, however, she remained silent as Pierce continued, "Seeing as you will not willingly aid me now, I need to provide you with more incentive. Grant, if you please."

Grant snickered and yanked Zelda into James's view. Then he shoved the gun against her temple and put his finger on the trigger.

James's gaze snapped from Zelda's blank face to Grant's pointer finger that lodged on the trigger to Pierce's smug expression.

"You can say no, of course," Pierce suggested, shrugging helplessly. "Then I will excuse you from the mission, and you can be the darling hero that Bellefleur wants you to be. But I'll have to kill her, you see. An eye for an eye, am I correct?"

James looked at Zelda again, his expression full of pain.

She smiled sadly and said, "Don't do it, James. Don't let them use you anymore." Grant hissed at her to be quiet, but Zelda didn't listen. She knew he wouldn't kill her if it wasn't on Pierce's orders. "You've spent seventy years in their service. You've done enough. You don't have to live this way anymore. Walk away, go somewhere safe. Pierce is right about one thing, James. I **_do _**want you to be the hero."

"I will not be able to go anywhere without you," he murmured, just lowly so that only she could hear. He knelt beside her and sighed. "I would rather die myself."

"You can't," she responded. Grant tugged at her hair again but she didn't care. "But you **_can _**walk away. Please spare yourself, James. I will die either way. Do it for yourself… or if not for you, for me."

James opened his mouth to respond, but Pierce's harsh voice rang out again. "What'll it be, Soldier?"

James stood up again and faced Pierce, whose eyebrow was only slightly raised in interest. Then he looked at Zelda again, who was smiling. He looked between them another time or two—she nodded in encouragement.

He was silent.

Zelda sighed in relief and closed her eyes. She would be all right with dying. After all, her parents were there now, and hopefully God would forgive her for all the terrible things she'd had to do to keep them alive for as long as she had… Would this be a good time to pray? She hadn't been to church in two years. Hopefully God would forgive her for that, too…

Grant sighed upon hearing the silence. Zelda heard the click that let her know he was preparing to kill her.

And she also heard the shout of, "All right, stop! I'll do it."

Zelda's eyes shot open, and she tried to glare at James—but it was hard to look reproachful when he looked as if the entire world had been swept out from underneath his feet. "I'll do it," he repeated, gazing into Zelda's eyes in a way that was clearly an apology.

"I'm glad to hear that, Soldier," replied Pierce, a look of relief in his own eyes. Zelda knew that this was what he wanted—he didn't actually want to kill her. At least, not yet. He just needed her as a bargaining chip for now. "You'd better get ready. Plans have changed—the mission is being completed today. You have ten minutes to grab everything you need, then two minutes to talk to Bellefleur. Hopefully your sensibility will rub off on her."

Zelda glared at Pierce, but he didn't seem to notice.

James looked at her again and gave her a curt nod before he walked behind the door where he kept the guns he used on missions and the lightweight armor he wore for protection.

While he was out of earshot, Zelda dropped the intense loathing in her gaze and asked Pierce tiredly, "When are you going to let him go?"

"When HYDRA no longer requires his assistance," he answered smoothly.

"And when will that be?"

"No one knows."

"In other words, you plan on keeping tabs on him for as long as he lives, and to ensure that you will have him when you need him, you intend on keeping him frozen forever."

Pierce sighed and held out his hands as if in surrender. "What else would you suggest?"

"Stop being a selfish bastard and let him go?" she suggested innocently.

The leader of HYDRA only chuckled and shook his head. "When there's a large world out there, and your goal is to control it, you need to ignore the insignificant pleads of individual people and do whatever is best for the organization that plans on ruling. You're wasting your breath by trying to spare Soldier, Bellefleur, but I admire your efforts."

Zelda sighed. "**_James, _**Pierce. His name is James."

He chuckled again. "Is there anything you **_haven't _**told him?"

"No. I've told him everything I know."

"Which, unfortunately, is all the intel we have on him," muttered Pierce under his breath. "Perhaps I shouldn't have entrusted you with his entire file. Still," he added, the volume of his voice increased, "I am quite impressed by the fact that you manipulated the data. It was a risky, well-done maneuver."

"How flattering of you to say," grumbled Zelda, struggling against the ropes. Grant simply grabbed her shoulders and forced her down as the other couple guards in the room kept their guns trained on her.

"Now, now, Grant, play nice. We were just having conversation," mocked Pierce, his eyebrow raised again.

There was silence after this for a long while until finally, James emerged, wearing his black lightweight armor in his hand again. This time, his mask was by his side, although apparently he hadn't received new goggles since his last pair had been shot. He had two pistols in his belt, a semi in one hand, and another slung across his back in case he needed to quickly grab one from behind.

Once James was standing in front of Pierce, the latter nodded and said, "Bunk, keep an eye on them so she doesn't try to escape. The rest of you, get ready for your individual missions. We have approximately one hour before it all sets into place."

At Pierce's command, the majority of the people left the room. Grant started to follow, but Pierce stopped him. "Wait out here with me for a moment. I have another assignment for you."

After those two were gone, and James, Zelda, and Bunk were the only three in the room, James sighed. "I'm sorry, Zelda, but I couldn't just watch you die like that."

"I know how it feels," she replied hollowly.

"I know… I'm so sorry," he mumbled. "But I'm sure they had good lives, Zelda. After all, nothing is precious if it lasts forever."

She nodded, trying to keep more tears from escaping her eyes. But it was difficult. She never even got to tell her parents goodbye, or that she was sorry, or that she loved them.

"Anyway, I think Pierce was wrong about something," he added, making her blink and look at him curiously. Seeing that he had captivated her attention again, he said, "He thought that because you loved more than one person, you were weaker than I. But he was wrong. You are the strongest person I know, Zelda… You were ready to die for me just now, I could see it in your eyes. And that was perhaps what scared me the most—the fact that you accepted it. You have just lost people that you love, and you are still strong, ready to die for me as well… and that proves **_you _**are stronger than **_me. _**If I had just watched them murder you right now… I would not be coping nearly as well. They would've had to kill me too, because I would not have stopped destroying this godforsaken place."

That last made Zelda giggle lightly, but the mirth didn't entirely reach her eyes. Her parents were still occupying her mind—as did her guilt.

James seemed to see right through that. He kissed her cheek lightly and murmured, "Don't think that. You have done so much for your family these past couple years. They have been at the front of your mind every single day since you were forced here. Do not feel guilty that you didn't do enough, that you made a mistake. If anyone is to blame for their death, it's me."

"James, **_no,_**" gasped Zelda, her head shooting up. "No, no, don't say that. If it weren't for you, **_I _**wouldn't be alive. I hated myself, I hated what I did… God, I was miserable until I met you. I might have… given up by now, if I hadn't been assigned to supervise you." She was silent for a moment before she giggled again. "How ironic, that Pierce actually kept us both alive for us to eventually torment HYDRA with our rebellion."

"I find that amusing," smirked James, and he joined in with light yet slightly uneasy laughter.

After that, however, Pierce stepped back inside the room. "It's time, Soldier."

James narrowed his eyes at the sound of Pierce's voice, and he didn't indicate that he'd heard. He only gazed at Zelda and smiled again. "I'll be back soon," he murmured.

"If you can avoid killing Steve…" she began, but he cut her off.

"I'll do my best."

With that, he kissed her cheek and moved towards the door. At the same time, Pierce stepped back in, Grant on his heels. They both moved a little closer to Zelda—James remained inside, just in case. Zelda gaped when she heard Pierce say, "Grant, I'm reassigning your mission to someone else. You will remain here and make sure that Bellefleur remains where she is. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Good work, Grant. Do what you will with her, I do not care anymore. She is no longer a HYDRA worker—if things go well today, I will deport her somewhere she will be no threat to."

James snarled in Grant's and Pierce's direction. Zelda couldn't tell who he was angrier with: Pierce for threatening her deportation, or Grant for the repulsive look in his eyes when Pierce condoned him doing what he wanted with her.

"And what about James? Will you free him?" demanded Zelda, ignoring his expression, straining against her bonds.

Pierce shot her a nasty smirk. "That remains to be seen… his latest work on Nick Fury has been admirable. Depending on what occurs today—"

"Nick Fury?" gasped Zelda, her vision tainting red. As if targeting her **_parents _**and **_James _**hadn't been enough, Pierce had gone after her old boss, too. "You traitorous **_bastard!_**" screeched Zelda, her face a deadly mixture of shock, rage, and desperation. Her hands were getting raw from twisting and writhing against the knots so much, but she didn't care, she didn't care, she was so angry. "He was your friend! **_He was your fucking friend!_**"

She had expected Pierce to go after her family and her loved one. But **_this _**was an uncalled for, below the belt smack. And she was absolutely furious.

Pierce shrugged. "He was a threat to us, Bellefleur."

"A threat to **_you, _**you slimy, no-good, evil, merciless—!"

"You better watch your tongue, darling," drawled Grant carelessly. "I wouldn't want to have to bloody your pretty face."

"You won't lay a finger on her," growled James, stepping forward threateningly. "Or I'll throw you into another beverage table."

_Yes, throw them **both **into a beverage table, _thought Zelda, still struggling against the stupid freaking ropes. She wanted to escape them and punch Pierce straight in the face for her boss and friend, Nicholas J fucking Fury!

Alas, that was not to happen—Pierce only put a traitorous hand on James's shoulder and said, "Let us go, or we'll be detained. Grant, keep a close eye on her."

And then they left, James looking back and telepathically promising Zelda that he'll be as careful and quick as possible.

Once the door slammed behind them, Grant ambled up to Zelda, who was again glaring at the floor. If she'd had heat-vision, she would've burned a hole straight through to the Earth's core—or, even better, straight through Grant's forehead.

"Well, it looks like it's just us, dear," said Grant, his voice a little too sickly sweet for Zelda to be comfortable. But she kept her gaze on the ground as he said, "You do realize that everything you're hoping for is hopeless, don't you?"

She clenched her teeth and kept her mouth shut.

Grant seemed amused by her silence. "SHIELD will fall, Nick Fury is dead, your **_parents _**are dead, Soldier is doomed, and you are alone… and you are silent. Isn't that something."

"Piss off, Grant," snarled Zelda at last. "If you weren't such an egotistical jerk, I'd **_stay _**silent. But your voice is bothering me, so if you would, just shut up. It's been a long day."

Oh, was that the truth. Had it only been that morning that Zelda woke up to see James lying next to her?

She wished she'd known what was coming. Then they could've run, and possibly made it far enough away that Pierce wouldn't be able to catch them.

Grant's voice brought her back to the present. "You are tied to a chair by the ropes and are at my mercy, Zelda Bellefleur. I would suggest against sassing me." His tone of voice was dangerous, but she was so tired and irritated that she didn't believe his warning.

"Whatever," she grumbled, if only to make herself feel better.

Grant put the gun away, which made her feel a little less threatened. But there was still the matter that he was in the room with her… "Do you realize how long I've been waiting to have you to myself? Two years," he answered himself. Zelda refused to look at him. "Since the day you first arrived, I knew that you had to be mine. No other woman was as beautiful as you."

"How superficial, Grant," drawled Zelda. "Beauty is not everything."

"Perhaps not, but you are not just attractive; you are intelligent and rebellious, something that Pierce might find annoying… but I find rather appealing."

His hand lightly traced her face; she had to resist chomping his fingers off. When his fingers started trailing down her neck, she hissed, "Don't touch me!"

Grant just chuckled. "Like that; that rebellion is intriguing. But I will do what I wish. After all, Pierce has relinquished control of you to me now. I see no reason to hold back anymore."

He then started to become more adventurous, as if he owned her body—throughout the next torturous hour and a half, the only thing Zelda allowed herself to think was, _Please hurry, James. Please._

* * *

Hey, guys! Thanks so much for reading, once again! You are all amazing! I'd like to give a special shout out to my guest reviewer, Yis, for the constant reviews the last few chapters! You're super awesome!

We've only got three more chapters, and they're short... The next two are from James's point of view, and then there's the end! I hope you guys enjoy, and thanks for sticking with me.

You know what to do. ;) (In case you don't, here are the three R's of fan-fiction: Read, rave, review!)


	20. James or Bucky or Whoever He Was

Once he had arrived at SHIELD headquarters, it took him only ten minutes to eliminate all the guards surrounding a jet and fly that jet up to the huge helicarrier that hovered in the air. From there, he waited for Steve Rogers to show up.

"Don't forget, Soldier—if you fail to kill Steve Rogers, Ms. Bellefleur dies," said Pierce's voice from his headset.

James's heart grew heavy. He hadn't told Zelda that her life was at risk. It would do nothing for her, and she would only beg for him to spare Rogers anyway.

But James couldn't do that. While this Captain America might have been his best friend beforehand, Zelda was the woman he loved **_now. _**

Another ten minutes passed before Steve Rogers jogged into view. When he saw James standing there, a defeated expression came over his face. "People are going to die, Buck," said Rogers, using the nickname that James supposed was what he had been called before he lost his memory.

James knew that people were going to die if he succeeded. Despite that, he couldn't let Zelda be killed.

Steve Rogers seemed to notice the determination on James's face, and he heard it in his silence. "Please don't make me do this," pleaded Rogers.

There was true pleading and concern in the Captain's voice. James felt guilty; he knew he would be hurting thousands of people, Steve Rogers most of all. But he wouldn't stand down, not for anything now.

"Sorry, Steve," James said. A light went on in Rogers's eyes, hearing James call him by his name. It didn't diminish when James continued, either. "But I have to stop you. You aren't the only one who has something important at stake."

"What?"

"I can't let them kill her."

"Her?" asked Steve, confusion in his eyes.

James nodded curtly, his gaze hard.

Steve swallowed. "We can go back and save her, Buck. Together."

James shook his head. "One false move from me, and she dies. She has a gun to her head right now. I won't betray her after everything she's done for me."

Steve looked down at the ground, but—was it James?—there was a slight smile on his former best friend's face. "She must be some girl, huh?"

"Yeah," replied James softly. It was odd, how they had gone from _I need to kill you _to _I'd like to meet your girlfriend _in about twenty seconds. Then again, they'd been friends before, so perhaps it was just natural.

"She got a name?" asked Rogers, though he was still looking at the ground.

"Zelda."

"That's a nice name. Was she the one I saw the last time we met?"

James couldn't restrain the small smile on his face, remembering that Zelda had actually shot at Rogers last time he saw her. "Yeah, that was her."

"She seems like a nice girl."

"Are you going to make small talk all day, or should I remind you of your purpose at that helicarrier?" asked Pierce's voice out of the headset. "Don't make me take matters into my own hands, Soldier."

James winced at the threat. The longer he looked at Steve Rogers, the more certain he was that he'd known him before, and the less he wanted to kill him.

Rogers's eyes narrowed. "I hear Pierce is telling you to get on with it."

He was answered with a nod. "Sorry, Rogers, but I have to kill you."

"And I have to stop you from stopping me."

They exchanged mutual nods—after another second, Rogers sprinted towards James and started to attack. He was fast, just as James remembered—luckily, he was just as fast. He managed to dodge the first attack and readied himself for the second one… but it seemed Rogers wasn't trying to hurt him, only get **_past _**him.

That was when James noticed something in Rogers's hand… it was a small chip that looked like it would fit in one of the slots of the machine behind him. Undoubtedly, some sort of technology would thwart HYDRA's plans with these giant helicarriers.

Determined not to fail, he sprang towards Captain America and tackled him again. For a few more minutes they grappled until they both fell off the iron railings and onto a large podium just below. Somehow, James managed to get Rogers to drop the mechanical chip, and he lunged for it—but Rogers was faster, and he had it in his grip again.

Before he could get past him, James kicked him with enough force to tackle him off of the podium. Rogers, however, somehow managed to grab James's leg, forcing James to fall farther down the platform too.

Down on the ground, they fought for another while. James tried to get Rogers to drop the chip again, but the way he lunged made it easy for Rogers to grab his arm and throw him to the ground. Although James had the microchip in his hand, he couldn't crush it because Rogers had just straddled him and yanked his arm a painful direction.

"Drop it!" commanded Rogers, but James couldn't. Not now—the chip was in his hand, if he could only get it to his left hand, he could squash it and end the fight once and for all.

Rogers pulled his arm a bad direction. James heard something crack and felt pain lance all throughout his arm; he yelled in both pain and determination. He was so close, he couldn't give up now.

"Drop it!"

James didn't want to, but his arm was killing him. He was losing all regular feeling in it, and that was being replaced by the burning sensation. He didn't remember dropping the chip, but he must have, because in another second, Rogers had released him and was scrambling up the platform to where he would plug in the chip and destroy HYDRA.

In a last ditch effort, he pulled out one of his two pistols—his semis had been lost sometime before then but he didn't remember exactly when—and aimed carefully at Rogers. He shot once and hit the railing above him as a warning; but Rogers kept going. So James shot again—this one grazed his finger.

The third shot hit him in the abdomen.

Rogers exhaled and slumped to the ground in front of the machine.

For a moment, it was silent. James stared at the figure above him before blinking and looking down at the ground. He hadn't actually **_killed _**him, did he?

Apparently he didn't, because when he looked back up again, Rogers was plugging in the chip.

Nothing happened for a split second. Although his heart was beating rapidly and he was close to panicking, thinking that he failed, he still hoped that perhaps something had malfunctioned and Rogers hadn't succeeded after all. He heard the Captain say something, and James looked out over the sky, where two more helicarriers were floating.

And then, without warning, they began to fire at one another. Great explosions rocked the helicarrier that he and Rogers were on—chunks of metal and glass broke and fell toward the lake below the helicarriers. The whole thing was beginning to fall apart, and there was nothing James could do as a giant metal beam crashed down upon him.

He yelled in pain and anguish: he **_had _**failed, and Zelda was going to die.

"Pierce!" he screamed into his headset. "Pierce, don't kill her! Do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt her!"

He received nothing in response, and James was beginning to panic, thinking he'd already lost her. "No, no," he murmured, trying to wriggle out from underneath the structure that was crushing his godforsaken lungs and **_damn it _**when he needed his cybernetic arm the most of **_course _**it was pinned underneath the beam too. "No—Zelda!"

There was a loud **_CLANG _**and a groan from beside him. James's gaze snapped toward Steve Rogers, who had just landed to his right. Without any words, Rogers began struggling to lift the beam off of James, never mind the bullet wound that James had given him.

"Come on!" shouted Rogers as he lifted the beam. When at last James had enough room to escape the crushing metal, the hero let it drop with another loud **_CLANG!_**

Both James and Rogers panted for a moment, trying to regain their breath. But the former still had Zelda on his mind—"Pierce!" he cried out again, wondering if it would work this time. "Is she alive?"

Static. Nothing.

James cursed horribly in Russian and whipped his second pistol out and pointed it at Rogers.

Rogers didn't look surprised by this action. "I'm sorry, Buck. But I had to save the people."

"And I have to save her," replied James, though he was already scared to death by the possibility that he'd already lost her, that he would have no one to save even if he shot Steve Rogers this very moment. "Killing you was my mission." With these words, he stepped closer and directed the gun unmistakably towards Rogers's heart.

"Then finish it," answered the Captain. In his hand was his shield—but he let it fall through a hole in the helicarrier upon seeing the conflict on James's face. When James was looking at him again, Rogers then said, "Cause I'm with you to the end of the line."

For some reason, this made an old memory surface to James's mind. He was standing outside a brown door, and this small, scrawnier version of Steve Rogers was standing with him. James blinked, and then that small Steve became a larger Rogers that was standing above him, in a train, a desperate look on his face as James felt himself falling.

James blinked again, and Steve Rogers was standing here in front of him, his hands by his side.

He knew now that he couldn't do it.

James lowered the gun and lowered his gaze. He was a failure, to both himself and Zelda. She would die for certain now…

"Buck," said Rogers, and James looked up. But just then, another large chunk of glass hit the ground between Steve's feet, and the Captain went plunging through the hole towards the ground.

Without a second thought, James jumped down the hole too.

If he couldn't save Zelda, then he could at least save his best friend, Steve Rogers.

* * *

If Steve and Bucky/James actually do reunite something like this is the MARVEL universe, my life will be complete. As it is, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter! Thanks again for reading!

Two more chapters...


	21. James Buchanan Barnes

Fishing Steve out of the water was not as easy a task as James had predicted it would be, because after he had hit the water, Steve had fallen unconscious. It had been up to James to get him above the surface and drag him towards a riverbank. Afterwards, he used some of the water to clean his bullet wound, which luckily wasn't anything fatal. At least, James didn't think he'd punctured any vital organs.

As soon as it was clear that Rogers would survive, James left. He had to return to HYDRA headquarters and see if Zelda was still there, if she was—he couldn't even finish the thought.

She had to be alive. She had to be.

Within another half hour, James was sprinting inside the room where Pierce had taken them earlier that afternoon. "Zelda!" he cried out, bursting through the door.

But it was empty. The ropes that had tied her up were neatly cut, proving that one of her captors had relocated her.

Not sure where to start, James started breaking into as many doors as he could, determined to find her.

After destroying a good number of doors and failing to locate Zelda, James sighed and slumped against the wall. Where could she have possibly have gone? He didn't know, and he wasn't going to give up so easily. So he rose again and started breaking down more doors, hoping that before long, he would find her.

It only took another couple minutes until James burst into the room that must've been that scuzzy prick, Grant's, office.

A low growl rose in James's throat when he laid eyes on the man. He was leaning over a limp form of Zelda upon the ground—James rushed forward and mercilessly shoved Grant aside.

"Zelda," James murmured, but his voice was hollow. She was lying on the ground, her eyes tightly shut.

"James?" she asked weakly. "Are we dead?"

"No," he replied, brushing a strand of her hair away from her face. "No, we're alive. I'm just glad—Pierce didn't—have you killed."

That was when he realized what Grant had done to her. Her lips were puffy, as if they'd been pinched together for too long. Her neck had purple splotches on it, and her shirt was all but torn in half. More bruises descended down her collarbone and across her stomach. James had the sick feeling that those bruises weren't the normal type of bruise. The button of her jeans was torn off and missing, and Zelda's eyes were red from crying, her hair escaping its regular ponytail so that it lay frayed around her face.

Seeing the look on James's face, Zelda began to cry softly. "James—I'm sorry," she whimpered, but that was as far as he would let her talk.

"Don't worry," he whispered, kissing her forehead, careful not to touch her anywhere Grant had. "I'll take care of it."

And James rose, stared at Grant, who had his hands up as if in surrender, and shot him. Twice. Because nobody would touch her like that, or he would kill them.

James didn't know if he actually killed Grant or not, but he didn't care. A day ago, James would have hesitated just flat out murdering Grant—but now, he would do it again.

Zelda stared at James, her eyes slightly wide. "Are you… mad at me?"

"Of course not," he responded. "I wouldn't ever be mad at you for this. What did he do?"

She closed her eyes and breathed out shakily. "You don't know all of it."

James's eyes narrowed almost to slits. He thought about shooting Grant a third time, if only for good measure. He didn't know the extent to what he'd done to Zelda, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly what, but whatever it had been, it had scarred her.

She shuddered, and James moved to close her shirt over her exposed stomach and chest. "What happened?" she asked. "Did you… succeed?"

"No," he replied, "though I hardly care about that now. Steve Rogers lives, and his own mission was successful. Mine was not—although, seeing you alive is more of a success than anything else I might have accomplished. I was terrified that you were…"

"Dead? I thought I was. I thought Grant would eventually kill me…"

"He won't now," chuckled James darkly. "But Zelda, I do not know what will become of HYDRA now. I don't know if Pierce is alive, since he never responded to me when I tried to ask if you were alive. What do we do?"

Zelda blinked, obviously trying to think. "We shouldn't go to Canada," she murmured. "Pierce heard those plans, so if HYDRA lives, that's the first place they will look for us…"

James nodded. "How about one of the other countries you mentioned?"

"We would need more time and planning to successfully relocate there," she replied weakly. "I know… of a place where we would have friends… Ellis—she offered to hide us, if ever we needed it. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. We could… go there for a while, to keep an eye or ear out for any remains of SHIELD or HYDRA."

Hearing this suggestion, James nodded. "That would be a good idea. I can meet your cousin as well."

Zelda smiled, though her eyelids were fluttering. "I've saved up enough money these past few years to secure payment on an apartment for a number of months. I'm sure I can find work there…"

"I'll do my best to help with that," he promised, trying to soothe her. She was about to fall asleep, and James wanted to take her back to her current apartment first so she could recuperate a little.

Before she fell asleep, Zelda mumbled something that sounded like, "I love you." Once her eyes closed, James gingerly picked her up in his arms and began walking out of HYDRA headquarters, free—both of them—for the first time in what seemed like forever.

* * *

Goodbye HYDRA, goodbye Grant, hello freedom. Writing this part made me very happy. Hopefully it makes you happy to read it. :)

One last chapter, guys... Just the conclusion! Thanks so much for following up with the story... it means a lot to me. Seriously, you lot are the best.


	22. Chapter 16

Zelda and James remained in her apartment for two days to let Zelda heal. No one from HYDRA pursued them there, which relieved them. But both were still skeptical that the organization still existed, and they agreed that it would be better to be farther away from the headquarters as opposed to in the same city.

The day that they were to leave, they visited Robbie, who immediately exclaimed, "Oh, thank **_God, _**I was terrified that something had happened to you two, are you okay?!"

She told him most of the truth, including that her workforce was an evil organization bent on world chaos. She left out the part about James being frozen for seventy years, as that would take too much time to explain, but in regards to almost everything else, she told him everything.

When she was done, Robbie looked flabbergasted. "All this time, I never knew!" he gasped. "Honey, are you good at keeping secrets! And here I claimed I could read you like an open book…"

That made her smile—she told him afterward that she and James would be moving to Salt Lake City for a time, at least until they were certain that HYDRA was dead. Then they would come back.

The farewell was heartbreaking for Zelda, as Robbie had been all she'd had for a long, long time. She cried a little upon saying goodbye—so did he—but before she and James left, Zelda promised to keep in touch with him through letters. Robbie and James exchanged something that Zelda would classify as a "bro hug," and Robbie said, "You take care of her for me, now, will you? I need to know my bestie is in good hands."

James smiled at that. "She will be well-looked after."

"That's good to hear. Thank you."

With that, Zelda and James grabbed a cab to the New York City airport, as she'd bought tickets to Utah, and they were ready to go to their new life.

* * *

Zelda and James made it through security—how the metal detectors didn't go off when James passed through them puzzled Zelda, but she decided not to contest it—and soon, they were waiting to board their plane. Zelda had called Ellis and let her know that they were coming; her cousin was very excited and was apparently searching for apartments that were close to where Cliff lived.

It was quiet between them for a moment; Zelda was forlornly thinking of all the good memories she'd had in New York with James. He noticed her solemnness and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried that things might never be the same. I don't know what's going to happen… Nothing is certain right now, and that scares me."

"Something about it is certain."

"What, that we'll come back someday?"

"No—that we'll be together."

Zelda blinked at James's comment, but then she smiled gratefully. "That's even better to know," she murmured, grasping his hand and holding it tightly. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Well, I know where I'd be—under a block of ice."

She laughed at that, if only because of his distasteful expression when he'd said it. "You don't have to worry about that ever again," she promised him.

"A very comforting thought," he mused, relief and love in his eyes when he looked at her. "I feel like I will never be able to say this enough, Zelda, but thank you for everything you have done. I will forever appreciate it."

She kept his hand tightly grasped in hers. "I could say the same to you."

Just then, the call for the passengers of their plane was sounded. James and Zelda exchanged looks.

"Ready?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Only if you are."

And with their hands still locked, they boarded the plane, knowing that someday, they'd return home.

* * *

There we are... the end. It's not a perfect happy ending, but I feel like they'll be happy living close to Ellis and Cliff, who are actually characters in my best friend's original novel. We decided together that Ellis and Zelda would be cousins, and that provided the opportunity for this relatively happy ending.

I'll write more MARVEL fics... my upcoming one is post-Age of Ultron, and that is in the works. It doesn't focus around Zelda and James, but it will eventually have them appear, although I don't know when that will be.

Thank you all so much for reading this, especially if you've been with me from the beginning to the end. I'm glad I got to write this... thank you again, for sticking with me till the end of the line.


	23. The Reunion

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I posted in this story... Probably because the story was finished. This, however, is a reunion that occurs when Steve _**finally **_finds them... That's all explained in my other story, You Saved My Life, but the short version is that Robbie met the Avengers and talked about his bestie and that she and her boyfriend were in Salt Lake City. Thus, Steve goes to find them.

I am posting this now because in the other story, Steve has just left Stark Tower to go and locate James and Zelda... so hopefully you all will enjoy this final installment of Awake and Alive... Thanks for reading, guys, and for sticking with me till the end of the line. :)

* * *

-_Two Years Later-_

* * *

"Better hurry, Zelda, or you'll be late again."

"The kids don't care if I'm late, James, they never tell on me, anyway."

"You never know when the principal is going to decide to saunter in your classroom at seven-thirty just to say good morning."

Zelda couldn't help but laugh at that. "Mr. Mince isn't Pierce, James. He wouldn't come and check on me—it'll be alright."

James just sighed and handed her a plate of eggs and toast. "Whatever you say."

She laughed and shook her head, eating her breakfast and looking around the room. The apartment that Ellis had found them fit them perfectly; it was almost exactly like the apartment she had in New York, except Robbie wasn't there, eating her food. She sighed a little, missing her best friend. Although she had Ellis and her boyfriend—and now **_fiancé, finally_**—to hang out with, she still missed Robbie.

James seemed to notice her far-off expression. "Are you thinking about New York again?"

Zelda blinked and looked back at James to see that he wore the hopeful smirk he did whenever they mentioned New York. "No," she answered untruthfully.

"Zelda."

"All right. Yes, I am. I just… miss Robbie. And there's no place like home, you know? Like, this is home, but it isn't **_home _**home, if that makes sense."

He nodded and thoughtfully bit into his toast. "It does."

There was a silence for a moment as he asked, almost rhetorically, "When do you think we'll be able to go back?"

"Well, if Ellis has a say in it, never," laughed Zelda. "She wants me to be at her wedding, which is in six months. Tara is probably going to be the maid of honor, which I totally understand, but I still wouldn't want to miss it, after… you know."

"I do," answered James, glancing out the window. Zelda followed his line of vision and smiled somewhat—Salt Lake City was pretty, for sure. It wasn't too busy, and they had been able to scratch an honest life out of it. Zelda had finally finished attaining a chemistry degree thanks to online college, and was now the fifth-grade science teacher of the school two blocks away, while James had gotten involved with the city management/police force. It seemed to suit him well, which made Zelda happy for him. When they'd first arrived in Salt Lake City, James had worried that he wouldn't fit in anywhere and that he wouldn't be able to help forge their new life.

Despite all they had accomplished, however, they both missed New York. They didn't necessarily miss their **_jobs _**at New York, but they were tired of having to constantly keep an ear out for anything HYDRA.

"You know," Zelda murmured softly. "We haven't heard anything of HYDRA since we left. Like, at all. Do you think it might be safe to… visit? Just visit?" she added quickly at the expression on James's face.

James's eyes widened slightly, and he opened his mouth to speak when there was a knock at the door.

Both Zelda and James glanced at the door, wondering who it could be. Ellis and Cliff never got up this early, so it wasn't them. It might be Tara, Ellis's other best friend, freaking out over the wedding decorations. It wouldn't be Tara's husband, Cris—he had obstinately declared that he would **_not _**be planning out another wedding…

"I got it," said Zelda, figuring it might just be a neighbor asking for eggs or something. So she left the kitchen and went into the living room to the front door.

When she opened it, she inhaled sharply and froze.

"Good morning, Miss," said Captain Steve Rogers, his blue eyes filled with relief.

Here was living proof that she and James would never be free. They had run, gone undercover for two years, and yet, HYDRA or SHIELD or **_somebody _**still found them.

Zelda stumbled backward and screamed.

"**_Zelda!_**" shouted James, and he came barreling into the room, a pistol in his hand. Seeing Captain America standing in his doorway, he shoved Zelda behind him, pointed the gun at the captain's forehead, and exclaimed, "Don't come any closer!"

Steve Rogers held his hands in the air in a clear manner of defeat. "I didn't come here to fight," he insisted. "I only wanted… to see if you two were alright."

"We are perfectly fine," exclaimed James, not lowering the gun. "We don't need to be dragged back to HYDRA. We just want to be free."

"There's nothing to be free from anymore. The very day that we last saw each other was the day both HYDRA and SHIELD were destroyed. We destroyed them both. You've been out here looking for a new life, and I understand that, but you didn't need to hide like this. I've—been… worried about you, Buck. You and Zelda. A gentlemen only recently let slip where you were, I think his name was Robert—"

"Robbie?" gasped Zelda, stepping out from behind James and looking the captain in the eye. "Is he alright? He didn't get hurt or anything?!"

Steve Rogers chuckled and shook his head. "He's perfectly fine. He met a few of my friends and somehow, conversation turned to you. I think he misses you."

Zelda swallowed. She certainly missed Robbie too.

"How did you destroy HYDRA?" questioned James, his eyes narrowed. "I don't think I believe you."

"You will if you let me explain," replied Steve calmly, his hands still in the air. "As you can see, I'm unarmed. I'm in normal clothes, no armor. I didn't even bring my shield. This visit was purely to make sure you were okay."

Hearing this and seeing that it was true—Steve Rogers was dressed in normal khakis and a button-down shirt, and he had no shield, and no concealed weapons—James and Zelda exchanged looks.

At last, Zelda sighed. "All right… you better come inside, Captain. And James, for goodness sake, put that gun down."

She whapped his arm lightly, which made James chortle and put it back in his pocket.

"I need to call my boss and let him know I'm not going to be there today," murmured Zelda. "Good thing they always have a substitute teacher on hand…"

She walked off to go call the principal of the school.

Once she was gone, James and Steve appraised each other, trying to determine exactly how much of a threat the other one was. It was a moment before James looked at him sideways and asked, "How exactly did you find us?"

Steve shrugged. "I asked around a little. One small girl told me an address—she looked proud to have remembered it."

James sighed. It was one of Zelda's students; she tutored kids that were having trouble in science on Thursdays. But knowing that Rogers probably would've found them anyway, he merely sighed, "Makes sense. I assume you've been alright lately?"

"Quite," he answered, shrugging. "Been living with some friends. Can't afford a place in Brooklyn yet, but maybe someday."

At the mention of Brooklyn, a flash of something ran through James's mind. He remembered a small, blond kid getting beaten up by a larger jerk—he remembered shoving the large kid away from the small one and declaring, "Pick on someone your own size."

He blinked and glanced back at Steve before smirking, "You want to go back to the place you kept getting beaten up in?"

It was Steve's turn to blink and look at James. "You remember that?"

"Just a little," admitted James. "Not much. Probably because I haven't… been associated with HYDRA for a while, you know."

Steve looked rather excited—just then, Zelda reentered the room. "All right, we're all cool," she explained. "I told him I had a family emergency which, technically, is not too far off. Anyway… HYDRA collapsing. Tell us, Cap."

With that, Steve Rogers began explaining the mission he'd carried out that day on the helicarriers. He, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson were attempting to destroy the helicarriers and therefore destroy HYDRA. They realized, however, that doing so would also bring down SHIELD—but they carried on. And since Steve was successful, both organizations collapsed.

"Recently, my friends and I have been purging the world of the last weak HYDRA bases. They're all gone now… there won't be any more talk of HYDRA. I think we've finally cut off all the heads." This last was said as a dark chuckle, his gaze on the floor.

There was another silence after Steve Rogers was finished. Zelda glanced at James, who was looking thoughtfully at the captain. Suddenly, James gasped and clenched his fists—

"James?" asked Zelda, moving forward. "James!"

After another moment, he blinked again and exhaled. "It's fine. I'm alright. I just remembered something."

Steve looked excited, but at the same time, concerned. "What did you remember?"

James just looked at Steve and shrugged. "Nothing. You're just a punk."

Steve grinned. "Jerk."

"I can't believe you won that war without me."

"Technically, I won it **_against _**you."

"Oh yeah…"

Zelda huffed and watched this exchange with exasperation. "I feel like I'm witnessing the beginning of a promising romance. I'm guessing you remembered something, James?"

James nodded. "I've actually… remembered most of it. There are some foggy parts, but—"

"Welcome back, Buck," exclaimed Steve, attacking James with a bro hug.

James blinked before returning the bro hug. "Good to be back, man."

Zelda watched the two with a small smile. She was very glad to see them as best friends again, but at the same time, she was a little worried. She hoped James wouldn't be overwhelmed with the recollection of his memories or, even worse, that it would make the past two and a half years with her meaningless.

As it was, James seemed to sense her worry, and he smiled and gently grasped her hand. "It's okay, Zelda. It's alright—I remember now. But if anything, it only makes me appreciate what you did to help me even more."

He kissed the side of her head, and Zelda smiled again, this time in relief. "I'm glad you remember," she murmured. Then her gaze fell on Steve Rogers, who was smiling a little wistfully. "Thank you, Steve. And… this might sound really bad, because I almost shot you once…"

Steve chuckled at that, but waved his hand dismissively.

"But you saved my life during those alien attacks in New York, three and a half years ago. I never got to thank you for that. This is my opportunity."

The captain smiled. "Glad to help, Miss Zelda." He glanced at James then and said to him, "See? I knew she was a nice girl."

"Even though she shot at you," teased James, giving Zelda a look—she just returned it.

Steve laughed again, and he glanced at the two before taking a deep breath and saying, "You know, I didn't think this would go… this well. I just came to check on you two, to see if you were all right, but right now, I'm thinking—maybe you two would like to come back to New York? You'd have a place to stay, and you could see Robert again…"

Zelda glanced at James to see his eyes lit up. She was just as excited by the possibility of returning, but she had her cousin to think of as well. "Would I be able to come back here? My cousin's wedding is in six months, and I can't miss that…"

"You'd be able to go anywhere you want, anytime," assured Steve. "Trust me, we'll have it covered."

That almost seemed too good to be true to Zelda… She cocked her head sideways and asked, "How? Who the heck are your friends?"

"Tony Stark, for one…"

"That explains everything," laughed Zelda, rolling her eyes. "I wonder how well you get along with **_him?_**"

Steve exhaled slowly. "We… make it work."

Both James and Zelda burst into laughter at that, but their mirth was ended when Steve asked, "Although I've got some other friends. You may or may not know a couple, actually… Miss Esca, for one," he added. There was a small smile on his face when he said her name.

James blinked. "I… actually do know her. Esca Rarity?"

"The very same."

"She was in Germany about seven to eight years ago, in a camp, with me. Is she okay?"

Steve nodded. "She's been perfectly fine. We—that is to say, the Avengers—found her in Sokovia. She saved one of our team member's life… She's happy." This last was said softly. But then he cleared his throat and asked, "What do you think, Zelda, Buck? You want to come back home?"

Zelda and James exchanged looks, and simply knew.

"Yeah," they both responded simultaneously—but then Zelda added, "I just want to explain to my cousin about the decision, and then we can call it good."

Steve nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, Miss Zelda, there's no rush. I have a plane ticket going back to New York very late tonight… I can get you two more tickets as well, if you like."

"Don't worry, Steve, I'll get it," said Zelda, but the captain insisted that **_he _**be the one to buy the tickets, because it was his suggestion that they all return to New York, and there were no worries.

Zelda sighed, but laughed at the captain's persistence before declaring, "Then I'll go to Ellis's now and explain… You two might both come with me, if you like. Although, Steve, feel free to use our guest room to sleep if you prefer, I'm sure you must've had a late flight here and are probably tired."

Steve smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I think I'll take you up on that offer."

James nodded and said he would come to Ellis's with Zelda—once Steve went into the guest room to rest, Zelda quietly asked James, "You ready to go back to New York?"

He grinned. "More than ever."

"Me too. I think this time will be better than the last."

"Well, I have both you and Steve, so I'm happy."

"I couldn't have said that better myself," smiled Zelda. Then she grasped his hand, and they set off to Ellis's.


End file.
